Central government schemes

₹6,000 a year, paid straight into your bank account in three instalments of ₹2,000.

Insurance for your crops against drought, flood, pests and other losses. You pay at most 2% of the sum insured for kharif crops, 1.5% for rabi crops and 5% for commercial and horticulture crops.

Short-term loans for crops, animals and fisheries. With the government interest subvention, crop loans cost about 4% a year when repaid on time (ask your bank for the current limit).

A pension of ₹3,000 a month from age 60. You pay ₹55 to ₹200 a month (depending on your age) and the government adds the same amount.

Subsidy for a solar water pump or for making your existing farm pump run on solar, so you spend less on diesel and electricity. The share you pay depends on your state.

Free testing of your soil and a card saying which nutrients and fertiliser it needs, crop by crop.

A free card with a 12-digit number (UAN) that registers you as an unorganised worker, so welfare schemes for workers can reach you.

A pension of ₹3,000 a month from age 60. You pay ₹55 to ₹200 a month and the government adds the same.

A fixed pension of ₹1,000 to ₹5,000 a month from age 60, depending on how much you pay in each month.

A zero-balance bank account with a RuPay debit card, accident insurance and, after a while, an overdraft facility.

Life insurance of ₹2 lakh for ₹436 a year, taken automatically from your bank account.

Accident insurance of ₹2 lakh for death or full disability (₹1 lakh for partial disability) for ₹20 a year.

Loans without collateral for small non-farm businesses: Shishu up to ₹50,000, Kishore up to ₹5 lakh, Tarun up to ₹10 lakh, and Tarun Plus up to ₹20 lakh for those who repaid a Tarun loan.

Bank loans of ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore to start a new enterprise in manufacturing, services, trading or farm-related activities.

A subsidy of 15% to 35% of the project cost for a new micro enterprise (projects up to ₹50 lakh in manufacturing and ₹20 lakh in services); the highest rates are for women, SC/ST, OBC and others in rural areas.

Recognition as a Vishwakarma with a certificate and ID, skill training with a ₹500-a-day stipend, a ₹15,000 toolkit incentive, and loans without collateral of ₹1 lakh and then ₹2 lakh at 5% interest.

Working-capital loans without collateral, in steps that grow as you repay, with an interest subsidy for repaying on time and cashback for digital payments.

Official startup recognition: easier compliance, faster patents at lower fees, tax benefits for eligible startups, and access to government funds and tenders.

A savings account for a daughter with one of the highest small-savings interest rates (set every quarter). You deposit ₹250 to ₹1.5 lakh a year; the money is for her education and marriage.

A free LPG cooking-gas connection for women from poor households, with a subsidy on refills.

Join a women's self-help group: savings, low-interest bank loans, skill training and help to start a business, aiming at an income of ₹1 lakh a year or more.

Help to build, buy or rent a pucca house in a town or city, including interest help on a home loan.

Money to build a pucca house in a village: ₹1.20 lakh in the plains and ₹1.30 lakh in hilly and difficult areas, plus help for a toilet and wages under MGNREGA.

Free food grains every month: 5 kg per person for priority households, 35 kg per family for Antyodaya.

A subsidy for rooftop solar on your house: ₹30,000 a kW for the first 2 kW and ₹18,000 for the third, up to ₹78,000 — and up to 300 units of free electricity a month.

Full tuition fees and a monthly allowance for studies after class 10 (class 11 up to PhD).

Tuition fees and a monthly allowance for studies after class 10.

Pre-matric and post-matric scholarships, and top-class school education, for OBC, EBC and DNT students.

Post-matric and merit-cum-means scholarships for students from minority communities.

₹12,000 a year in the first three years of a degree and ₹20,000 a year after that.

Education loans without collateral or guarantor for students admitted to top-ranked institutions, with an interest subsidy for families earning up to ₹8 lakh a year.

A 12-month internship in a top company with ₹5,000 a month and a one-time ₹6,000.

Free short courses with a government certificate in hundreds of job skills, and help to find work.

Safe deposit of up to ₹30 lakh with interest paid every quarter, at a rate set by the government each quarter (among the highest of the small-savings schemes).

A monthly pension from the central government (₹200 from 60 to 79, ₹500 from 80), with most states adding more.

A monthly pension for widows from the central government, with most states adding more.

A monthly disability pension from the central government, with most states adding more.

One national disability card that works for every disability scheme, concession and reservation.

Free or subsidised wheelchairs, hearing aids, artificial limbs, smart canes and other aids.