Ration Card is a government approved document which helps you in purchasing items such as food, grains, kerosene, etc. at subsidised rates. Ration card has been extremely helpful to those who are not so financially well off or belong to below poverty line (BPL) group and would find it difficult to purchase food items. Apart from that, a ration card also acts as a proof of identity and address and can be used for purposes such as applying for a domicile certificate, voter ID, etc.
Types of Ration Card
There are two types of Ration Card:
There are certain eligibility criteria you will have to fulfil if you wish to apply for a ration card:
There is no person who has applied for a ration card on your behalf
No member of your family has applied for a ration card
Should be a citizen of India
State Application form
Identify proof (Election Id, Driving License, Passport, Government Id Card)
Residence proof (Electricity Bill, Telephone Bill, LPG Receipt, Bank Passbook, Rental Agreement)
Photograph of the head of the family
Annual income of the applicant
Cancelled/surrendered ration card if any
There are various ways through which you can apply for a ration card:
Online
You can visit the official website of Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Department of the state in which you reside. You can apply by providing the required documents and filling the application form. You can then submit the form post which a representative from the department will get in touch with you and assist you with the process. If all the documents submitted by you is correct, then the ration card will be sent to your communication address.
There are various third-party websites who assist you by helping you fill the application form and uploading the necessary documents. You can visit the website and once you submit the form and upload the required documents you can then expect to receive the ration card
Offline
There is a format according to which you can send an SMS to the food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Department of the state in which you reside. You will then receive a message instructing you to follow the procedure to apply for a ration card. You can find the details of the process on the official website of your state government.
You can also find the toll-free number or the customer care number on the state government website which you can use to know the process you will have to follow in order to apply for a ration card.
You can also visit the Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Department of the state in which you reside along with all the necessary documents and apply for a ration card by submitting the application form and all the necessary documents.
You can check the status of your ration card by visiting the official website of Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Department of the state
Generally, under E-services on the website, you will find the option of checking the status of your ration card application status
Either you will be shown a list which will contain the names of the people who have recently applied for a ration card and the status, or you will have to enter your credentials and log in. Once you have logged in, you will be able to check the application status of your ration card
Once your ration card application has been approved you can download the ration card and print it for future use. You can use your credentials to log in to the portal on the government website and check the status of your ration card application. Once it has been approved, you will find the option of downloading or printing the ration card. The printed version of the ration card will contain all the necessary details and you can use it to purchase food items for yourself at subsidised rates.