Documents You Can Get Prepared while You are Stuck at Home

It is 2021. You have been stuck at your home for more than a year. You are fed up with fixing your eyes on screen: online classes, movies, series, YouTube.

There is something you can do though. You can get your necessary documents prepared while you are still at your home. It is a headache to get the documents in line. Having ample time right now, you can get them done within a month. This will save you a lot of trouble and tension in the future.

Prologue: Before we get to the list, you should go through these two guidelines.

1. Avoid Intermediaries, Save Money: Whether it be online ads while you are trying to locate a government website or people at the government offices; you should avoid them. They claim to help you and charge anywhere between Rs. 200 to Rs. 2,000. Stay clear of them. You should read all the instructions from the government website. No one knows more than the instructions.

2. Beware of Detail Mismatch: The following are two examples of detail mismatch: a) Aadhar says Father’s name is Mr. Ram Sharma and the 12th result says it is Mr. Ram Naresh Sharma, “Naresh” being the first name of your grandfather.

b) Aadhar says the address is “42, Avanti Housing” and Bank Passbook says it is “42, Avanti Heights”. So, whenever you are getting all your documents in place, make sure that all the details are the same in all the documents.

The Terminator List:

1. SIM Card: You should have a SIM Card in your name which you plan to use throughout your life. This will be used to link all your necessary documents together.

2. Aadhar Card: If you already have that, you should get it linked with your permanent mobile number. Saves a lot of trouble.

3. Bank A/c: A proper bank account with a large bank is preferable. You will not have trouble locating branches if you move to any other city. Do enquire about annual charges and minimum account balance across all banks before finalising your money partner for life. Obtain a physical Bank Passbook and ATM Card.

4. PAN Card: Next in line is the PAN card after you are done with these.

5. Driving License: If you know how to operate a motor vehicle, you should initiate by obtaining Learner’s Driving License. 6 months later, you will be eligible for a permanent Driving License. 6. Voter ID Card: Even if you are not politically aligned, you should get it ready. And yes, your vote can make your ward, city, state, and country a better place.

7. Passport: It is the costliest document to get prepared from the list. But as it takes a lot of time and hassle, you should get it prepared as early as possible.

8. Birth Certificate: If you have all the other documents, a birth certificate may not be of that much use to you. Nevertheless, you should get it prepared from your local Municipal corporation. 9. Caste/Disability Certificate: You should get them prepared as well if you think you are eligible for either or both of them. Your present effort will save you from running pillar to pillar when you’ll be needing them.

10. Family Income Certificate: It is asked for nearly every scholarship opportunity. If you are planning to avail any, you should get it prepared.

11. DSC and DIN: These two are optional. Getting them ready can help if you have a registered family business, or if you are planning to launch your own in the next 1–5 years.

12. Post Office Savings A/c: Again, this is optional as well. A PO Savings A/c passbook serves as a backup when you are applying for other documents.

Many documents here have to be updated from time to time. Despite this, having an old copy saves due diligence time and gets you a refreshed copy fast.