Identity Cards in India – Explained in Brief!

Identity Cards or Identity Documents are used to prove a person’s identification. The most important identity document internationally is a passport.

With the recently passed Citizenship Amendment Act, the rumors have confused everyone as to which will be a valid document to prove one’s citizenship and which is not. But here we will be listing all the important identity documents being used in India currently.

Aadhaar – World’s Largest Biometric Database

As of late 2019, number of Aadhaar Card holders has crossed 124 Crore. It is a 12 digit unique identity number that can be availed by any resident of India(voluntarily). If lost it can be very easily reissued as well.

Indian Passport

An Indian Passport is a proof of Indian Citizenship while traveling internationally. It is issued by the Ministry of External Affairs. With Indian Passport you can travel to 58 countries with a pre approved Visa, which makes it 86th powerful passport in the world. Now you can easily apply/renew your Indian Passport, read to know more.

Voter ID or Electoral Photo Identity Card(EPIC)

Voter ID is an Identity Card issued by ECI(Election Commission of India). It is issued to only 18+ year old individuals making them eligible to participate in the Worlds Largest Democratic Elections. It makes individuals eligible to participate in various elections in India i.e. Lok Sabha Elections, Vidhan Sabha Elections, Municipal Corporation Elections etc.

PAN Card

Pan stands for Permanent Account Number, it is a ten-character alpha-numeric identity issued by the Income Tax department. PAN Card is a mandatory identity document to file taxes. You can easily report a loss of PAN Card or reissue it online.

Driving License

While driving it is mandatory to carry your Driving License in India(Motor Vehicles Act, 1988). These identity documents are administered by Regional Transport Offices(RTO). Now you don’t even need to carry hard copy of a driving license, you can show your license on Digilocker App(it holds equal weightage as a physical copy)

Ration Card

Ration Card is an official Identity Document, issued by the State Government, which enables the households to purchase subsidized supply of grocery from Public Distribution System(National Food Security Act).

Other Identity Cards

• Birth Certificate
• Education Certificates such as transfer certificate, matriculation certificate etc.
• Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe/Backward Class Certificate
• Arms License
• Service Identity Cards – Government ID Cards, Public Ltd Company IDs etc.
• Marriage Certificate
• Legal Name Change Affidavit
• Student ID Cards of Government recognized institutes

Managing & searching for these many identity cards is a big hassle because all of them are scattered and at different places. With Sorted AI you can easily organize and search for these identity cards at the time of need.