Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY)

What is Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana?

Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY) is a Central Sector scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment that provides free physical aids and assisted-living devices to senior citizens belonging to the Below Poverty Line category. The scheme began on 1 April 2017 and is funded entirely by the Government of India, with money drawn from the Senior Citizens' Welfare Fund.

According to the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana targets senior citizens who suffer from age-related infirmities, low vision, hearing impairment, loss of teeth and loco-motor disabilities, and supplies devices that restore near-normal bodily function. RVY is today one of the components of the umbrella scheme Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana (AVYAY).

Key objectives

• Restore mobility, hearing, vision and chewing ability to poor senior citizens.
• Reduce dependence on family members for routine daily activities.
• Ensure devices are professionally assessed and fitted rather than handed out at random.
• Reach the poorest households, where a wheelchair or hearing aid would otherwise be unaffordable.

Main features

• 100% Central Sector funding; no state share and no beneficiary contribution.
• Implemented solely by the Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO), a public sector undertaking under the ministry.
• Devices are supplied free of cost after a physical assessment.
• Distribution happens through camps organised with state governments and district administrations, with walk-in registration also available.
• Beneficiaries aged 80 years and above get doorstep delivery.

As of February 2026, the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment reports that over 35 lakh devices have been distributed to roughly 6.76 lakh beneficiaries across more than 318 camps.

Who is eligible for Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana?

You qualify if:

• You are 60 years of age or above on the date of assessment.
• You belong to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category.
• Your monthly income does not exceed Rs 15,000.
• You suffer from an age-related infirmity: low vision, hearing impairment, loss of teeth, or a loco-motor disability, that an assistive device can correct or reduce.
• You can produce an Aadhaar card and an income certificate at the camp.

You are not eligible if:

• You are below 60 years of age. RVY is exclusively a senior citizens' scheme; younger persons with disabilities are covered by the separate ADIP scheme of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.
• Your monthly income is more than Rs 15,000. Income above this ceiling disqualifies you regardless of age.
• You are not in the BPL category and cannot produce an income certificate or BPL card supporting the claim.
• You have no age-related infirmity that a listed device addresses. The assessment team decides this, not the applicant.

RVY does not pay cash. Applicants looking for a monthly pension should instead look at the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme or a contributory pension such as PM-SYM; RVY only supplies physical devices.

What documents are required for Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana?

According to the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, Aadhaar and an income certificate are the two mandatory documents; ration card, PAN card and driving licence are listed as optional supporting documents.

How to apply for Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana

1. Find out when an ALIMCO assessment camp is scheduled in your district. Camp dates are announced by the district social welfare office, the district collectorate and ALIMCO in coordination with the state government.
2. Carry your Aadhaar card and income certificate, plus a BPL ration card if you have one, to the camp venue on the announced date.
3. Register at the camp desk. Your name, age, address, income and the infirmity you are reporting are recorded in the beneficiary register.
4. Undergo the physical assessment by the ALIMCO medical team. They test vision, hearing, dentition and mobility and decide which devices you need and in what size.
5. Collect the acknowledgement slip listing the devices sanctioned for you and the expected distribution date.
6. Attend the distribution camp on the notified date to receive and be fitted with your devices. If you are 80 years or above, the devices are delivered to your home instead.

Walk-in registration at designated ALIMCO centres is also accepted where no camp has been scheduled nearby. There is no online self-registration route for individual beneficiaries — identification of beneficiaries is done by the state government and the district administration.

How much benefit does Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana provide?

Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana provides devices, not money. There is no cash transfer under the scheme and no maximum rupee entitlement published for an individual beneficiary. The value of what you receive depends entirely on which devices the ALIMCO assessment team sanctions.

Generic aids supplied include walking sticks, elbow crutches, walkers, tripods and quadpods, hearing aids, spectacles and artificial dentures. Special aids include wheelchairs, lumbo-sacral belts, cervical collars, cushions and mobility aids fitted with commode attachments.

Every device is supplied free of cost, along with fitting at the camp. The scheme also covers the cost of the assessment itself.

According to the ALIMCO scheme document, ALIMCO provides one year of free maintenance of the aids and assisted-living devices after distribution, so a beneficiary whose hearing aid or wheelchair develops a fault within that period can have it repaired at no charge. Where a senior citizen needs more than one type of aid, for example spectacles and a walking stick, or a hearing aid and dentures, multiple devices can be sanctioned for the same person in a single assessment. Devices are made to the sizes and specifications recorded at the camp, which is why the physical assessment is compulsory and a device cannot simply be requested by name.

How to check your Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana status

1. Keep the acknowledgement slip issued to you at the assessment camp, it carries your beneficiary reference.
2. Contact the district social welfare officer or the district collectorate office that co-organised the camp with your reference details.
3. Call the Elderline helpline on 14567 if the distribution camp date has passed and you have not received your devices.

Distribution usually follows some weeks after assessment, because ALIMCO manufactures or procures the sanctioned devices in the sizes recorded at the camp.

Common reasons RVY applications are rejected

• Income above Rs 15,000 a month, which breaches the ceiling.
• Age below 60 years on the date of assessment.
• No income certificate produced at the camp, so BPL status cannot be established.
• Assessment finds no qualifying infirmity. The applicant does not need any of the listed devices.
• Aadhaar details mismatch with the age or address claimed.

Help and grievance redressal

• Elderline national helpline for senior citizens: 14567
• District social welfare officer: first point of contact for camp schedules and non-delivery of sanctioned devices.
• ALIMCO, the implementing agency, for questions about device specifications, sizes and repairs.

Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana devices are free. No official, agent or camp volunteer may charge you a registration fee, a "processing" fee or a payment for a wheelchair or hearing aid. Report any such demand to the district social welfare office or on 14567.