Auto Driver Sevalo Scheme

What is the Auto Driver Sevalo Scheme?

Auto Driver Sevalo Scheme is a direct income-support scheme of the Government of Andhra Pradesh that pays Rs 15,000 a year to auto-rickshaw, three-wheeler passenger vehicle, motor cab and maxi cab drivers who own and personally drive their vehicle. The scheme was launched on 4 October 2025, when the Chief Minister released the benefit to about 2.90 lakh drivers, with an allocation of Rs 436 crore for the year 2025-26.

The scheme is known in Telugu as Auto Driverla Sevalo, and it is the successor to the earlier Vahana Mitra scheme, with the annual assistance raised to Rs 15,000.

Auto Driver Sevalo has a specific origin. When Andhra Pradesh launched the Stree Shakti free bus travel scheme for women on 15 August 2025, a large share of short-distance passengers moved from autos and cabs to APSRTC buses. Auto drivers, who typically own one vehicle bought on a loan and depend entirely on daily fares, absorbed that loss directly. Auto Driver Sevalo is the state's compensation to that group.

Reported breakdown of the 2,90,669 beneficiaries:

Who is eligible for the Auto Driver Sevalo Scheme?

You can apply if:

• You are a resident of Andhra Pradesh.
• You own an auto-rickshaw, three-wheeler passenger vehicle, motor cab or maxi cab, and the registration certificate is in your own name.
• You personally drive that vehicle for your livelihood, the scheme is for owner-cum-drivers.
• You hold a valid driving licence of the appropriate transport category, in the same name.
• Your vehicle is registered in Andhra Pradesh.
• Your household holds a rice card / ration card.
• You have an active bank account seeded with Aadhaar for DBT.

You are not eligible if:

• You drive a vehicle taken on rent or lease. Rented and leased vehicle drivers cannot apply, because the RC is not in the driver's name.
• You own the vehicle but employ someone else to drive it. The benefit targets the person who actually earns a living behind the wheel.
• Your driving licence has expired or is not of the transport category required for a passenger vehicle.
• Your vehicle is registered outside Andhra Pradesh.
• You are a regular government employee or an income-tax payer whose household is outside the welfare eligibility applied by the Sachivalayam survey.
• You claim for more than one vehicle. The benefit is per eligible driver, not per vehicle owned.

One point worth being blunt about: the licence and the registration certificate must carry the same name, and that name must match Aadhaar. This single check knocks out more applications than any other condition in the scheme.

How much do you get and when?

Auto Driver Sevalo pays Rs 15,000 per year as a single annual credit into the driver's bank account, not as monthly instalments. Payment is by Direct Benefit Transfer, so no cash is handed over and no intermediary is involved.

The first release under the renamed scheme was made on 4 October 2025, with Rs 436 crore allocated for the 2025-26 cycle. Subsequent releases follow the state's annual scheme calendar; check with your Village or Ward Secretariat for the date of the current cycle rather than relying on the previous year's date.

How to apply for the Auto Driver Sevalo Scheme

1. Gather your documents: valid driving licence, vehicle registration certificate in your own name, Aadhaar card, rice card and bank passbook.
2. Visit your Village or Ward Secretariat (Gram/Ward Sachivalayam) in the area where you live, and ask the Welfare and Education Assistant or the Panchayat/Ward Secretary for the Auto Driver Sevalo beneficiary enrolment.
3. Submit the application with self-attested copies of all documents. The Sachivalayam records your vehicle number, licence number and Aadhaar, and the details are cross-checked against the Transport Department's vehicle and licence database.
4. Confirm that your bank account is Aadhaar-seeded and active. A dormant or unseeded account is the single most common reason a sanctioned payment does not land.
5. Collect the acknowledgement and note the reference given to you.
6. Check the published beneficiary list at the Sachivalayam when it is displayed, and raise any omission immediately during the objection period.

Online submission is offered through the state's beneficiary management portal where a window is open for a given cycle, but the Village or Ward Secretariat route is the one available to every driver throughout the year and is the route to use if you are unsure.

There is no application fee. No village volunteer, Sachivalayam staff member or agent may charge for enrolment.

How do I check my Auto Driver Sevalo status?

1. Go to your Village or Ward Secretariat with your Aadhaar number and vehicle number.
2. Ask the staff to check whether your name appears in the verified beneficiary list for the current cycle, and at what stage your record sits.
3. Check your bank passbook or SMS alerts for the DBT credit around the announced release date.
4. If the list shows you as eligible but no credit has arrived after the release date, ask the Sachivalayam to raise a payment failure case, usually a bank seeding problem rather than a rejection.

Why do Auto Driver Sevalo payments fail?

• Expired driving licence on the verification date. Renew it at the RTO or through the transport department's online services before the next cycle.
• RC in another person's name, a father's, a financier's or a previous owner's. Complete the transfer of ownership at the RTO.
• Name mismatch between the licence, the RC and Aadhaar, including spelling and initials. Correct the records so all three agree.
• Bank account not Aadhaar-seeded, or dormant. Visit the branch, complete re-KYC and get the account seeded.
• Vehicle sold or scrapped since the last verification, so the driver is no longer an owner-cum-driver.
• Duplicate claim, two applications against the same vehicle, or one driver claiming for two vehicles.
• Name not in the survey household database, most often for a driver who has recently moved between districts.

Almost all of these are curable, and the fix belongs to a specific office: the RTO for licence and RC problems, the bank branch for seeding, and the Sachivalayam for household and list corrections.

Key dates

• 15 August 2025 — Stree Shakti free bus travel launched, the change in passenger demand that prompted this scheme.
• 4 October 2025; Auto Driver Sevalo Scheme launched; Rs 15,000 each distributed to about 2.90 lakh drivers.
• 2025-26; Rs 436 crore allocated for the scheme in the state budget.
• Ongoing, enrolment and correction at the Sachivalayam stay open through the year; the payment itself is released once a year.

Where do I complain about Auto Driver Sevalo?

• Village or Ward Secretariat, for enrolment, list omission and payment failure cases, the first and usually the fastest stop.
• Spandana at spandana.ap.gov.in or the toll-free number 1902, for a formal grievance with a tracking number and SMS updates.
• Spandana Monday at the district collectorate, for in-person escalation.
• Regional Transport Office (RTO) for licence, permit, fitness and registration corrections, and the Transport Department at aptransport.org.

Auto Driver Sevalo is paid entirely by Direct Benefit Transfer. Nobody can "arrange" your name on the list for a fee, no government official will ever ask for the OTP sent to your phone, and no part of the Rs 15,000 is ever collected back in cash.