How to link Aadhaar card to Ration Card online and offline

Aadhaar is one of the most essential documents in India. It’s a 12-digit unique identity number that can be obtained voluntarily by the citizens of India. Resident foreign nationals who have spent over 182 days in 12 months immediately preceding the date of application for enrollment based on their biometric and demographic data. The data is collected by UIDAI under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Recently, Goverment of India has asked the citizens to link their ration cards to Aadhaar card.

The Ration Card is an official document issued by the state government in India to households that are eligible to purchase subsidized food grain from the PDS under the National Food Security Act. They also serve as a common form of identification for many Indians.

If PDS beneficiary ration card is not linked to Aadhar card they will be denied their rightful share of food grains. The linking of both the cards is important in the light of the National Food Security Act’s benefits for the migrant population of their entitled food grains in the place of their temporary workplace. The One Nation One Card was introduced in August 2019 to assist daily wage earners, temporary workers, and migrants in accessing subsidized food grains from a location near them.

The scheme has a total of about 80 crore beneficiaries to date. The Aadhar card can be linked to the ration card both online and offline. Check the procedures below.

Steps to link Aadhaar card to Ration card online

1. Visit your state’s Public Distribution System (PDS) website.
2. Select Link Aadhar with the active cards option.
3. Enter your ration card number followed by your Aadhar card number.
4. Key in your registered mobile number.
5. Click on the ‘Continue/Submit’ button.
6. You will get an OTP on your registered number.
7. Key in that OTP on the Aadhar Ration link page and you will get a message which will say that your request has been submitted.
8. Once all this is done, you will get an SMS on your RMN notifying you of the same.

Steps to link Aadhaar card to Ration card offline

For this, you will have to visit a physical store, which is not feasible for many. But if it is, then here are the steps-

1. Ensure to carry all needed documents (scroll down for documents list) for the verification process. Also, passport-sized photos of the head of the family, and a photocopy of the Bank Passbook if the Aadhar card is not linked with the bank account.
2. Visit the nearest PDS or Ration shop near you with the documents.
3. Submit all the necessary documents at the PDS shop.
4. The shop representative might ask for fingerprint authentication to verify your Aadhar card.
5. After you have completed the formalities, you will get an SMS saying that the process has begun.
6. Once your Aadhar card has been successfully linked with the Ration card, you will get another SMS notifying you that it has been done successfully.

Documents you need to link Aadhaar card to ration card

• A passport-sized photograph of the family’s head.
• Aadhar photocopies of all family members.
• Aadhar photocopy of the family’s head.
• Along with the original, also carry a copy of the ration card.
• Photocopy of the Bank Passbook if the Aadhar card is not linked with the bank account.

What are the benefits of linking the Aadhar card to the Ration Card?

1. It will eradicate fake ration card holders.
2. Fraudulent cases will lessen.
3. Multiple duplicate ration cards within the family will be removed.
4. It will lessen the role of the corrupt intermediaries.
5. Fingerprint authentication will help verify genuine beneficiaries.

The last date to link the Aadhar card to the Ration Card is 30th June as of now, but it is expected to be extended. It is mandatory to link the Aadhar card with the Ration card to get benefits from the government.

FAQs

Q: Is it compulsory to link Aadhaar card to ration card?

A: Yes, Goverment has made Aadhaar card linking to ration card compulorary for availing benefits of public distribution services.

Q: What is the last date to link Aadhaar card to ration card?

A: So far, Goverement has not announced a deadline to link Aadhaar card with Ration card. However, we advice you to do link the two cards as soon as possible.

Q: Is there any change for linking Aadhaar card to ration card?

A: No, it is completely free and you can do it right from your your home using laptop or mobile phone.