February 2009

Monthly Archive

February 26, 2009

Address and ID Proofs

Posted by Vasudevan Deepak Kumar under Information
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Address and ID Proofs
 
Be it opening a bank account or to apply/renew/reissue of passport, we always need two types of proofs in India. They are the following: 

  1. Proof of Residence Address (aka) Address Proof
  2. Proof of (Photo) Identification (aka) ID Proof
  3. Proof of Age (aka) Age Proof

 
The purpose of this write-up is to help out on these topics and as-well to serve as an one-stop information repository on the following topics:
 

  1. What does each proof actually stand for?
  2. What documents qualify for each of the proof?
  3. When and where does each document befits and in what quantity?

 
Note: This compilation is on my personal best-effort basis to serve the people with a good compendium of information on the diversified set of proofs that are challenged by different organizations from the general public before a contract of service could be delivered or a new relationship account could be established. This is not officially endorsed post by anyone. Use these information purely for reference, check the validity of them for the date of use and for the organization to which you are going to use and at your own risk. If you have more information to share on these front, please add them as comments to the post for the benefit of other readers.
 
Inspiration for this writing: Of late, I had two interesting necessity to visit featured government organizations like Regional Passport Office (Chennai), Employee Provident Fund Commissioner Office (Chennai) and District Employment Office (Chennai) on a normal survey and a two minute watch of the plight of public at the merciless counter-personne there drove me to compile this information as a service.  

 
Age Proofs:  Age Proofs as they are called indicate the genuineness of your date of birth. This is particulary very important for Senior Citizens to avail certain benefits in Railway Tickets etc. The following documents can be used as Age Proofs:

  1. Birth Certificate: Once upon a time, the hospitals where the child was born were authorized to issue birth certificates. Nowadays, we are required to register with the local Corporation or Town Panchayat any birth that happens in the family and to get the birth certificate. Check out this info from Citizens’ Charter page of Government of Tamil Nadu.
  2. Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC). This is actually the tenth standard certificate and for those studying in Matriculations or Anglo-Indian board, their certificates qualify under the same banner. Besides the various marks obtained in the different subjects, information like date of birth are available in the certificate. Take greatest care of your SSLC/Matriculation/Anglo-Indian examination certificate. Procedure to get a duplicate copy of the same is very cumbersome as this one from Directorate of Government Examinations, Tamil Nadu indicates.

 
ID Proofs: Identity Proofs are those ones where one can establish a one-to-one mapping of the profile along with a distinct photo of the person on it. It is hence aptly also known as Photo Identification Proofs. The following documents can be used as ID Proofs:

  1. Income Tax PAN Card. The PAN Card is actually a photo-identification of the person and carries a unique permanent account number alloted by the Income Tax Department to him.
  2. Electoral Voters Identity Card. Check out this FAQ by Election Commission of India which explains the process of getting a Voter’s Card.
  3. Passport. Check out Indian Passport website for comprehensive information.
  4. Driving License. Basically, this is issued by RTOs in your circle after testing your vehicle driving skills.
  5. Any other Photo Identity Cards issued by State/Central Government
  6. A few of the organizations also accept employer identification cards. But this is not a universal standard across the country.

 
Address Proof: Address Proof is the one which establishes the communication contact point to which you can be reliably reached for any correspondence. The following documents can be used as Address Proofs:
 

  1. Passport
  2. Driving License
  3. Electoral Voters Identity Card
  4. Ration Card issued by Civil Supplies Department
  5. Insurance Policy (A IRDA approved insurance organization-issued policy)
  6. A working landline telephone bill (BSNL/MTNL bills are strongly recommended and welcome everywhere)
  7. Electricity Bill
  8. House Tax Bill
  9. Income Tax Certificate
  10. Lease Agreement
  11. Water Bill
  12. Address Cards issued by IndiaPosts.
 

February 9, 2009

February to March — The (Bank) Telemarketers Go Astray

Posted by Vasudevan Deepak Kumar under Finance, Media, Social Concern
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February to March — The (Bank) Telemarketers Go Astray 

Starting from after Pongal holidays in January till the end of March (financial year), at least in Chennai and Bangalore, you can observe a stiff amount of telemarketing calls from various banks and non-banking financial institutions offering to sell various products without caring about NDNC and paying heed to any telemarketing norms/rules laid down by DoT and TRAI. This is also a good time to show a good citizenship gesture by sticking on the following quick tips to manage through these menace: 

  1. Report every incident to your telephone operator and ensure that they issue a warning notice or serve an invoice for penalty to the offender. Sometimes the operator call center might show gestures of laziness. It does involve a bit of effort from our side.
  2. Do not succumb to the sweet girl’s voice on the phone. The telemarketers deploy such ploy only as a sticky dragnet to catch the unwary.
  3. Let us also try to add these defaulters to our ‘Violators List’ over here.
  4. We can still use our Mission Hilarity to derive most fun out of the situation too.