Government Schemes India 2026
Complete Guide — Central & State Welfare Schemes
India runs over 950 central government schemes and thousands of state welfare programmes covering agriculture, health, housing, women, education, business, and food security. Find step-by-step eligibility, documents, and application guides for all major schemes below.
India has 500+ central schemes but most people benefit from fewer than 5 — not because they don't qualify, but because no one told them they did. When I started researching this, I found a single family in rural Karnataka that was simultaneously eligible for PM Awas Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, PM Kisan, PM Ujjwala, and two state schemes — and receiving none of them. The problem is almost never eligibility. It's awareness. These guides are my attempt to close that gap, one scheme at a time.
— Sibin O, Founder, NagrikIQ · Last verified June 2026
🌾Agriculture & Farmers
₹6,000/year in 3 instalments of ₹2,000 directly to bank accounts of small and marginal farmers.
Full Guide & Apply →Crop insurance at just 2% premium (Kharif) and 1.5% (Rabi). Covers drought, flood, pest, post-harvest losses.
Full Guide & Apply →₹5,000/acre per season (₹10,000/year) for land-owning farmers in Telangana. 69 lakh farmers covered.
Full Guide & Apply →₹4,000/season for small/marginal farmers + ₹12,500/year for landless agricultural households in Odisha.
Full Guide & Apply →₹2,000 extra state top-up on PM Kisan = ₹8,000/year total for Rajasthan farmers.
Full Guide & Apply →💰Women's Financial Support
₹1,500/month directly to married women aged 21–60 in Madhya Pradesh. 1.29 crore beneficiaries. Samagra ID required.
Full Guide & Apply →₹1,500/month for eligible women in Maharashtra aged 21–65. 2.34 crore beneficiaries enrolled.
Full Guide & Apply →₹1,000/month financial assistance for women in Tamil Nadu from eligible families. DBT to Jan Dhan account.
Full Guide & Apply →₹1,250/month to women in BPL families in Assam. Covers 28 lakh families for food, medicine, and daily needs.
Full Guide & Apply →₹15,000/year to mothers/guardians sending children to government schools in AP. BPL/BC/SC/ST/minority families.
Full Guide & Apply →₹5,000 maternity benefit in 3 instalments for pregnant/lactating women for 1st live birth. Extra ₹6,000 for girl child.
Full Guide & Apply →🏥Health & Insurance
₹5 lakh per family per year health cover at empanelled government and private hospitals across India.
Full Guide & Apply →Universal ₹5 lakh health coverage for ALL citizens aged 70+ — no income limit. Activated via Aadhaar.
Full Guide & Apply →₹2 lakh accident insurance cover for just ₹20/year premium. Auto-renews from Jan Dhan account.
Full Guide & Apply →₹2 lakh life insurance cover for ₹436/year premium. For ages 18–55 with Aadhaar-linked bank account.
Full Guide & Apply →💼Business, Skill & Employment
For 18 traditional crafts trades: ₹15,000 toolkit grant + ₹1L loan (Year 1) + ₹2L loan (Year 2) at 5% interest + ₹500/day training stipend.
Full Guide & Apply →Collateral-free loans for street vendors: ₹10,000 → ₹20,000 → ₹50,000 at 7% interest. ₹1,200/year digital payment cashback.
Full Guide & Apply →Loans up to ₹10 lakh for small businesses — Shishu (₹50K), Kishor (₹5L), Tarun (₹10L). No collateral required.
Full Guide & Apply →100 days of guaranteed paid work per year for rural households. Wage: ₹267/day (varies by state). Apply via Job Card.
Full Guide & Apply →Free bus travel for all women (and transgender persons) on Karnataka state KSRTC/BMTC/NWKRTC buses.
Full Guide & Apply →🏠Housing
🍚Food & Ration
5 kg free grain (rice/wheat) per person per month for NFSA ration card holders. Merged into NFSA from Jan 2024.
Full Guide & Apply →Subsidised grain at ₹3/kg rice, ₹2/kg wheat for PHH families and free for Antyodaya (AAY) families.
Full Guide & Apply →Free LPG connection + ₹1,600 assistance (cylinder + regulator + pipe) for BPL women. 3 free refills. 10 crore+ connections given.
Full Guide & Apply →🏦Financial Inclusion & Savings
Zero-balance bank account with RuPay debit card, ₹2 lakh accident insurance, ₹30K life cover, ₹10K overdraft. 53 crore+ accounts.
Full Guide & Apply →Universal Account Number for unorganised workers — 53 crore informal workers. ₹2 lakh accident insurance + DBT benefits.
Full Guide & Apply →Market-linked pension plan for all Indians. Tax deduction up to ₹2 lakh/year under 80C + 80CCD(1B). Retire with corpus + pension.
Full Guide & Apply →💡State Utility Schemes
First 200 units of electricity per month completely FREE for domestic consumers in Karnataka.
Full Guide & Apply →Tap water connection to every rural household — target year 2024 (Jal Jeevan Mission ongoing). Report unconnected households at jaljeevanmission.gov.in.
Full Guide & Apply →🔍How to Find the Right Government Scheme for You
With thousands of central and state schemes, finding the right one can be confusing. Start by identifying your category: farmer, woman, street vendor, artisan, student, senior citizen, BPL family, or urban poor.
The official portal myscheme.gov.in(central government scheme finder) lets you filter by category, age, gender, and state to find schemes you are eligible for. For state schemes like Ladli Behna (MP), Rythu Bandhu (Telangana), or Karnataka Shakti — visit your state's social welfare department portal directly. Each scheme guide on NagrikIQ walks you through eligibility, documents, and the full application process step by step.
🔗 Related Guides
Common Government Scheme Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
❌ Mistake: Assuming you don't qualify without checking
✅ Fix: Most people don't check eligibility because they assume schemes are for 'the very poor only'. PM Kisan applies to all farmer landowners. Ayushman Bharat covers 40% of India's population. PM Ujjwala is available to BPL households across all states. Check each scheme's criteria — the threshold is often higher than people assume.
❌ Mistake: Applying through an agent or CSC when direct application is free
✅ Fix: CSC (Common Service Centre) operators are authorised facilitators — but they cannot charge for scheme registrations. Self-application on official portals (pmkisan.gov.in, pmjay.gov.in, etc.) is always free. Any payment for scheme registration is unauthorised.
❌ Mistake: Not checking if you're already a beneficiary
✅ Fix: Many people registered under schemes years ago but stopped receiving benefits due to Aadhaar linking failures, bank account changes, or eKYC lapses. Check your status on the official portal before applying fresh — a fresh application may delay benefits further.
❌ Mistake: Applying for a state scheme from the central government portal
✅ Fix: Some schemes have the same name across central and state governments (e.g., housing schemes). Always verify whether you're applying under the central government scheme or your state's equivalent — they have different eligibility criteria, benefit amounts, and application portals.
❌ Mistake: Missing the application window for time-limited schemes
✅ Fix: Some schemes (PM Vishwakarma, certain scholarship schemes) have annual application windows. If you miss the window, you wait another year. Bookmark the official portal and check back every April when new cycles typically open.
Disclaimer: NagrikIQ is an independent informational platform and is not affiliated with any government department, ministry, or scheme operator. All scheme details — benefits, eligibility, deadlines — are subject to change. Always verify current information on the official government portal before applying.