Link Aadhaar Card to Ration Card – Online & Offline Process

Ration Card

It is important to know everything about Ration card before linking it to the Aadhaar card. Read the content mentioned below to know everything about Ration card and why is it important to link it to the Aadhaar card.

What is a Ration card?

Ration card has been in the economy for almost fifty years now. It is a legal document which also works as an identity proof. It is used by households to avail food products and fuel at a cheaper price than it is available in the market. Ration card is an important asset for the poor of this country as it connects them to the government and gives them an identity. You can take the ration card to any shop/Public Distribution System to avail the benefits that come with this card.
There are three different types of ration card available and issued to the people. These cards are issued according to the economic condition of the family. The three different types of card available are Antyodaya, Below Poverty Line (BPL), and Above Poverty Line (APL). If you are applying for a new ration card then the entire process might take up a month.

List of documents required to link Ration card with Aadhaar

• A copy of your ration card along with the original card for verification
• If your bank account is not linked to your Aadhaar, then you will also need a copy of your bank passbook
• Passport size photographs of the head of your family
• Aadhaar card and its copy of all the members of the family

Advantages of linking a ration card with Aadhaar

• Linking Aadhaar with ration card will reduce the number of people holding fake ration cards. With this, subsidies will be diverted to the rightful owners, i.e, people below the poverty line.
• Once Aadhaar is linked to the ration card, every family will be entitled to only one ration card and won’t be able to hold more ration cards on the basis of fake details.
• People won’t be able to hoard food grains and misuse the services once ration card is linked to the aadhaar.
• Public Distribution System (PDS) with the biometric facility will be able to identify genuine and deserving beneficiaries and can extend benefits accordingly.
• Ration for the PDS shops won’t get misplaced or stolen once aadhaar is linked to the ration card
• An audit trail is created in the Public Distribution System with the help of Aadhaar which helps in uprooting the corrupt middlemen thus increasing the transparency and efficiency of the system

How to link Aadhaar with the Ration card?

• By visiting a PDS centre/ration office/Offline
• Online mode
• Link via SMS

Offline mode of Linking Aadhaar with Ration Card:

• Visit the nearest ration office with all the documents mentioned above.
• Submit all the documents to the ration office. These documents will then be forwarded to the relevant department.
• You will receive a notification in the form of an SMS or an email as soon as your documents reach the concerned department.
• Your documents will be processed by the concerned officials. You will be updated as soon as your ration card is linked to the Aadhaar cards.

Link via SMS:

• Follow the format mentioned below and send an SMS to 51969

Format: UID SEED <state short code> <scheme/program shortcode> <scheme/program Id> <Aadhaar number>

Online mode:

• Go to the Aadhaar seeding application portal.
• Look for a ‘Start now’ option on the portal.
• Click on the option and you will be asked to put in all the necessary details (complete address including district and state) required for the online linking.
• Once you have put in all the details, select ‘Ration card’ as an option from the ‘benefit type’ dropdown list and scheme name as ‘Ration card’.
• On the next step, you will be asked to put in your ration card number, email address, mobile number, and Aadhaar card number.
• After this, you will receive an OTP (One Time Password) on your registered mobile number.
• Enter the OTP in the designated space.
• Your application will be reviewed by the concerned officials and if your application is successful, you will be notified either via an email or SMS.

According to the latest updates, linking of ration card with Aadhaar has led to a cancellation of approximately 2 crores fraudulent ration cards. The maximum number of ration cards are canceled in West Bengal, followed by Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra. North-east has a very low percentage of Aadhaar seeding. Bihar is also in a poor state as only 0.1% of ration cards have been linked with the Aadhaar card.
All the states are opting for digitization of this process. It is imperative that you link your ration card with Aadhaar so that actual beneficiaries can get benefitted and nobody has to go to bed empty stomach.