Linking Aadhaar with Caste Certificates

The government of India has provided an opportunity for all the citizens to link their Aadhar card with their caste certificates. The main idea behind linking aadhar with the caste certificate is to identify the bonafide students who fall under the Scheduled Castes/Tribes category so that they can secure benefits offered by the government of India be it in getting free admission to educational institutions or getting fee concession at selected universities or colleges or schools across India.

The UIDAI has made the procedure easy for the students to link their Aadhar card with caste certificates. As of now, respective school principals are made responsible to collect the certificates and Caste Certificates Form from students and the same has to be submitted to respective officials. The government has requested all the state governments to submit both the caste certificate as well as domicile certificates of all the students which are granted within 60 days so that they can be linked to the aadhar card of respective students.

A caste certificate is a kind of certificate which is given to an individual to help them denote their respective caste to which they belong to. A domicile certificate acts as proof of the state of residence.

These two certificates are issued to students during the school timings itself. The linking of these certificates to aadhar will help the economically weaker and other backward classes of students to secure admission in universities without any kind of discrimination. It also ensures free admission and allowances for higher education.

The process of linking an aadhar with caste certificate will curtail corruption within the education system as the righteous database will check the growth of fake certificates.

Please Note: The government of India has ordered schools and educational institutions to issue caste certificate and domicile certificates to the students who are aged between 10 years – 15 years so that they can link them with their respective aadhar cards.

Procedure to Link Aadhar with Caste Certificate

The procedure to link aadhar card with caste certificate solely lies in the hands of state governments. The central government has issued an order to all the state governments to issue caste certificate/domicile certificate to all the students from 10th grade onwards. This will happen over 60 days from the time of admission. After the issue of certificates, it is the state government’s responsibility to link it with aadhar card.

Benefits of Linking Aadhar with Caste Certificate

Admission Purposes

After completion of the linking of aadhar with caste certificate, the students can avail all the benefits which are related to the allowances and government grants available for higher studies.

It is mandatory to link aadhar with caste certificate if students are seeking admissions in IITs, IIMs and other prominent institutions in India as it makes the entire process of admission hassle-free.

Government Employment

To get selected for as a government employee is an arduous task. The accessibility to equal job opportunity is always an area of concern for outsiders in every state especially for the SC/STs. With the aadhar backed caste certificate, the cases of discrimination will decline.

Scholarships

As the database is already set by the UIDAI and the state government, disbursing the scholarships to the respective students of SC/ST community will take place in a quick phase. This is the main reason behind the central government’s order to all the state governments to issue caste and domicile certificates to all the kinds of economically backward class.

Political Reservation

The seat for any electoral constituency is based on a particular population. The linking of aadhar with caste certificate will improve the level of transparency within the political division of any voting body concerning the declared reserved constituency.

System for Linking Aadhaar Number with Caste Certificate

The entire process of linking Aadhaar number with caste certificate of students lies with the state government.

The central government has ordered all the state governments in the country to issue caste certificates or domicile certificate to all the students starting from 10th grade onwards. This happens in 60 days beginning from the date of admission. After the issue of certificates, it is on the onus of the respective state government to link these certificates with Aadhaar card of pupils.

Caste Certificate

Caste Certificate refers to the proof of individuals belonging to a particular caste practised in India overages. The government has specified special mention to ‘Scheduled Castes’ in the Indian Constitution as it felt that the group of people who fall under the ‘Scheduled Castes and Tribes’ need special encouragement and opportunities to progress in the society. As a result, a part of the Indian System of Protective Discrimination, grants certain special privileges to the category of citizens and it includes reservation of seats in the schools, colleges, quotas in educational institutions, reservation of seats in the legislatures, government services, exemption off a part of whole of the fees at the time of admission to schools and colleges, relaxation of upper age limits for applying for certain jobs and so on. To avail the above-mentioned facilities, individuals must possess a valid Caste Certificate issued by the Tahsildar.

List of Documents required for Caste Certificate

1. Address Proof

• Passport
• Utilities Bill (Electricity Bill, Telephone Bill, Water Bill)
• Ration Card
• Rent Receipt
• 7/12 Extract
• Driving License
• Aadhaar Card
• Election Voter ID Card

2.  Identity Proof

• Aadhaar Card
• Voter ID
• PAN Card
• Driving License
• MNREGA Card
• RSBY Card
• Passport

3. Affidavit for Caste Certificate

4. Proof of Caste of Self or Blood Relative

• Document certifying caste of an individual issued by the Department of Social Justice
• Extract of Government Service Record (book) mentioning community or caste category of the applicant’s father or relative.
• Primary School Leaving Certificate of the applicant or his/her father.
• Extract of Primary School Register of applicant or Father or Grand Father.
• Validity Certificate if any of father or relative which is issued by a scrutiny committee.
• Copy of revenue records or village panchayat records.
• Any other relevant documentary evidence issued by the competent authority.
• Documentary evidence related to caste and ordinary place of residence before the date of notification of caste.
• Extract of Birth Register of applicant or Father or Relative

When does an individual need Caste Certificate?

• At the time of school admission
• College Admission
• For seeking scholarships
• To get government subsidies
• While appearing for competitive exams
• Allotment of house sites
• Employment in reserved categories
• To get housing and self-employment schemes
• At the time of assignment or grant of land
• At the time of filing of nomination papers for election as a candidate

Advantages of having Caste Certificate

If individuals have a proper caste certificate, then they will get the advantages which are associated with it be it in securing reservations in schools, colleges, universities, jobs and so on.

If an individual falls under OBC, SC, ST, VJ, NT then it is better to get a caste certificate as it also helps them to get scholarships in schools, from government sectors and it also aids to secure educational loans and the list goes on.