Ration Card In India | Digital India Program

Ration Card is the oldest official government document in India. The primary reason behind issuing ration card is to purchase food grains like wheat, rice and sugar and kerosene at subsidized rates. Hence, it is an important subsistence tool for the poor for fulfilling their basic necessities in life.

Before the onset of PAN (Permanent Account Number) and passport, ration card used to work as an identity proof, it still does at the time of applying for any other official government document.

Ration Card comes in the A4 folded paper card, which is laminated with an integrated circuit (IC). And the card contains a photograph of the head of the family.

The Planning Commission of India decides the category of ration card which is based on data collection and analysis from various sources.

Ration cards are classified into various types keeping different section of the societies in mind. This classification also helps the deserving candidates to get the basic necessities at subsidized rates.

There are five types of ration cards, which are as follows:

1. APL (Above Poverty Line) Ration Card
2. BPL (Below Poverty Line) Ration Card
3. Antordaya Anna Yojana Card
4. Annapurna Anna Yojana Card
5. Nirashrit Antordaya Anna Yojana Card

APL (Above Poverty Line) ration cards are issued to families who are below poverty line. In India if a person earns more than Rs. 27,000 or more than that, will fall in APL category.

BPL (Below Poverty Line) ration cards are issued to families who are below poverty line. In India if a person earns Rs. 6,400 or less than that will fall under BPL category.

There are many problems with PDS (Public Distribution System) as well. There are millions of ineligible and fraudulent ration cards; at the same time, millions of poor families have no ration card. And many a times the PDS officers divert the subsidized amount or necessities to the undeserved candidates along with the government officials. Hence, in order to combat that, government have recently declared that Aadhaar Card is now required to be linked with the ration card.

Ration Cards in India