Documents Required for Senior Citizen Card  :

• Aadhar card with Aadhar Register Mobile OTP

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• Blood Group Test Report

       Advantages of Senior Citizen Card

Easier Banking: Many Indian banks have special programs and plans for senior citizens. These include separate queues and facilities like higher interest rates, priority service etc. They are also given higher interest on investments along with 0.5% higher interest on FDs.

Income tax: People over 60 are categorized as senior citizens and 80 and above as super senior by the IT department. For seniors, the tax exemption limit is 3 lakhs p.a. For 3-6 lakhs it is 10% between 5-10 lakhs 20% and above 10 lakhs it is 30%. Furthermore, under Section 80 D of the IT Act 1961, there is a fixed slab of Rs 50,000 that can be deducted for health insurance premiums.

Priority in court hearings: Those above 60 can write for preferential case hearings to expedite the process in a court of law.

Lower railway charges: The Indian railways subsidize travel for senior citizens in India with males getting 40% and females 50% discounts on major train routes. This is not applicable for tickets bought via Tatkal. Separate booking counters are available and seniors booking online are allotted lower berths automatically by the system.

Cheaper telephone bills: Senior citizens get lower telephone bills with BSNL waiving registration costs and prioritizing registration for them.  Similarly, MTNL offers a 25% discount on installation and lower monthly bills for landline numbers.

Lower airfares: Senior citizens of India can avail of discounts on domestic air travel costs. Those more than 63 years get a discount of 50% from Air India for air travel in the country. Likewise, Jet Airways offers a 50% discount on premium or economy travel in India for those above 65.

Social welfare benefits: There are many social welfare benefits offered for seniors like in government hospitals where they are given priority for clinical examination and separate queues. National Insurance offers a special policy of 1 lakh for hospitalization and 2 lakhs for critical insurance. LIC offers several pension-based schemes for senior citizens with higher returns on money invested like the Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana 2017.

Easier passport process: Getting a passport is simplified for senior citizens with them getting a special exemption for police clearance to be done after the passport is issued. For this, they must submit a copy of their child’s passport that is overseas along with their application.