Synopsis: In this article we will take a look at top 10 government schemes that are free of cost and provide the citizens of India with multiple benefits.
Indian citizens can apply for numerous central and state welfare programs aimed at enhancing social welfare, economic development, health, education, and more. This article provides essential details about eligibility, application processes, and the specific advantages offered by each scheme, empowering you to take full advantage of the resources available to improve your quality of life.
Free government Schemes that Indian citizens
Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY
It is a government scheme that provides health assurance dedicated to providing financial protection against high medical expenses. The scheme covers the cost of hospitalization, surgeries, medicines, diagnostics, pre- and post-hospitalization expenses. PM-JAY does not charge any premium, has no waiting period, and imposes no cap on age or family size. The coverage is provided on a family floater basis meaning the ₹5 lakh limit applies collectively to all members of an eligible household.
Benefits include Medical treatment, examination along with consultation, Pre-hospitalization (Up to 3 Days) & Post-hospitalization (follow-up care up to 15 days), cost of medicine and medical consumables , Non-intensive and intensive care services, diagnostic and laboratory investigations, medical implantation services (where necessary), accommodation benefits, food services and complications arising during treatment.
Skill India Mission
It is a government program designed to help people gain skills that are needed in the industry. The goal is to make people more likely to get jobs and also encourage them to start their businesses, the mission offers training in different areas, which helps young people get ready for work in both old and new industries.
The program gives training certificates that are recognized by the industry and help finding jobs through approved training centers. It is available to people who have graduated from school or college, people who are looking for work and those who want to learn new skills or change their current skills.
Benefits include courses to develop skills, a certificate when someone finishes the course, help finding a job, advice on starting a business, recognition for skills, chances to work as an apprentice in some programs and training in fields, like IT health care, building, electronics, selling, hotels, cars and clean energy.
Atal Pension Yojana
The plan is mostly for people who’re poor and do not have many opportunities and workers who do not have steady jobs. Atal Pension Yojana is a plan that helps people have money when they are old, this plan is for people who have a savings account and are between 18 and 40 years old and they are not an income tax payee. The subscriber shall receive the following benefits on attaining the age of 60:
- Guaranteed minimum pension amount 1000 – 5000 per month, after the age of 60 years until death.
- Guaranteed minimum pension amount to the spouse after the subscriber’s demise.
- After the demise of both the subscriber and the spouse, the nominee of the subscriber shall be entitled to receive the pension wealth, as accumulated till the subscriber’s age of 60 years.
National Scholarship Portal (NSP)
The National Scholarship Portal is a government program that helps students. It is a place where students can apply for scholarships from the Central Government, State Governments and other government agencies like UGC and AICTE. This makes it easy for students to apply for scholarships because they can do everything online, they can register, apply and get their money from one place.
The National Scholarship Portal is open to students who are studying at different levels, this includes students who’re in school, college or getting a higher degree. To be eligible for a scholarship students have to meet requirements that are different for each scholarship. They are based on things like how well they do in school, how much money their family makes and other things.
Students can get multiple benefits using the National Scholarship Portal, they can apply for scholarships, from one place. They can also fill out their applications, send in their documents online. Students only have to register and then they can track their application and payment online. The National Scholarship Portal also makes sure that everything is fair and that students get their money directly, many government organizations, including Central Ministries, State Governments, UGC, AICTE and others offer scholarships through the National Scholarship Portal.
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)
PMSBY is an Accident Insurance Scheme offering accidental death and disability cover for death or disability on account of an accident.
- Premium is Rs.20/- per annum per member and it will be deducted from the account holder’s bank / Post office account through ‘auto debit’ facility on or before 1st June of each annual coverage period under the scheme.
- Coverage under PMJJBY is valid for one year from 1st June to 31st May on payment of annual premium.
- Benefits offered are – On death, the Nominee shall get Rs. 2 Lakhs. Total and irrecoverable loss of both eyes, loss of use of both hands, feet, loss of sight of one eye and loss of use of hand or foot- Subscriber shall get Rs. 2 Lakhs.Total and irrecoverable loss of sight of one eye, loss of use of one hand or foot subscriber shall get Rs. 1 Lakh.
The accident cover of the member shall terminate / be restricted accordingly on any of the following events- On attaining age 70 years (age nearer birth day) or on closure of account with the Bank or insufficiency of balance to keep the insurance in force.
PM Mudra Yojana
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) is a flagship scheme of the Government of India, the scheme facilitates micro credit/Loan up to Rs. 20 lakhs to income generating micro enterprises engaged in the non farm sectors.
The Scheme provides financial assistance to the non-corporate, non-farm sector income generating activities of micro and small entities. Interest rates are declared by Member Lending Institutions from time to time as per Reserve Bank of India guidelines. Upfront fee/Processing charges for Shishu loans (Covering loans up to Rs. 50,000/-) are waived by most Banks.
The scheme has been classified under four categories as ‘SHISHU’, ‘KISHORE’ , ‘TARUN’ and ‘TARUN PLUS’ to signify the stage of growth / development and funding needs of the beneficiary micro unit/ entrepreneur.
- Shishu: Covering loans up to Rs.50,000/-.
- Kishore: Covering loans above Rs.50,000/- and up to Rs. 5 lakhs.
- Tarun: Covering loans above Rs. 5 lakhs and up to Rs. 10 lakhs.
- Tarun Plus : Loans up to Rs. 20 lakh for entrepreneurs who have successfully repaid previous loans under the ‘Tarun’ category.
PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana
The scheme “Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana ” has been launched to ensure food security for the poor and vulnerable sections of the country by providing free food. Through this scheme, free foodgrains are provided to eligible ration card holders namely Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households and Priority Households (PHH).
- Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) families receive 35 kilograms of foodgrains per family per month and Priority Household (PHH) beneficiaries receive 5 kilograms of foodgrains per person per month.
- The foodgrains are provided as rice or wheat, depending on the state, with fortified rice distributed nationwide free of cost.
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana
SSY is a small savings scheme backed by the government that has the aim to help parents build savings that are long-term for a girl child to go for higher studies and for her marriage.
- Accounts can be opened at Post Offices and authorised banks, with an annual deposit of ₹250 up to ₹1.5 lakh per financial year.
- Deposits can be made for 15 years from the date of opening the account and it matures in 21 years.
- Current interest rate is 8.2% per annum, partial withdrawal of up to 50% of the balance is permitted for higher education after the girl attains 18 years of age or passes the 10th standard, subject to scheme rules.
- It is also eligible for EEE (Exempt-Exempt-Exempt) tax benefits under Section 80C.
DigiLocker
A flagship initiative of the Ministry of Electronics & IT under Digital India programme. DigiLocker aims at ‘Digital Empowerment’ of citizens, the issued documents in DigiLocker system are deemed to be at par with original physical documents.
Benefits to Citizens include: Important documents anytime and anywhere, authentic documents, legally at par with originals, digital document exchange with the consent of the citizen and provides faster service delivery.
Benefits to Agencies include : Reduced Administrative Overhead by minimizing the use of paper and curtailing the verification process. Acts as a secure document exchange platform like payment gateway between trusted issuer and trusted Requester/Verifier with the consent of the citizen.Provides a verification module enabling government agencies to verify data directly from issuers after obtaining user consent.
PM Vishwakarma
PM Vishwakarma is a Central Sector Scheme launched by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to provide holistic and end-to-end support to artisans and craftspeople through access to collateral free credit, skill training, modern tools, incentive for digital transactions and market linkage support. The scheme will initially be implemented for five years up to 2027-28.
Benefits include recognition as a Vishwakarma through a Certificate and ID Card, free basic and advanced skill training with a ₹500 daily stipend, a ₹15,000 toolkit incentive, collateral-free business loans of up to ₹3 lakh at a concessional 5% interest rate, incentives for digital transactions, and marketing support through branding, quality certification, e-commerce linkages, and trade fairs.
