Digital Life Certificate Campaign aims to ease lives of central government pensioners

Key takeaways:
• Nationwide Digital Life Certificate Campaign 2.0 is being organized at 500 locations in 100 cities in all States/ UTs of India.

• Nationwide Digital Life Certificate Campaign 2.0 embodies ‘Whole of Government’ approach by bringing all stakeholders on one platform.

• Face Authentication Submission of Digital Life Certificate will make life certificate submission easy and seamless for pensioners.

In a bid to enhance the “Ease of Living” for Central Government pensioners, the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare has been actively promoting the use of Digital Life Certificates (DLC), known as Jeevan Pramaan. The initiative began in 2014, allowing pensioners to submit DLCs using biometric devices. Subsequently, the department collaborated with MeitY and UIDAI to develop a Face Authentication technology system based on Aadhar data, enabling the submission of DLCs from any Android-based smartphone.

This innovative technology was launched in November 2021, reducing pensioners’ reliance on external biometric devices, and making the process more accessible via smartphones.

According to PIB, to create awareness among Central Government pensioners and Pension Disbursing Authorities regarding the use of DLC/Face Authentication technology for submitting Digital Life Certificates, the Department launched a nationwide campaign in November 2022 in 37 cities across India. The campaign achieved significant success, with over 35 lakh DLCs issued to Central Government pensioners.

Building on this success, a nationwide campaign is now underway from November 1st to 30th, 2023, spanning 500 locations in 100 cities and targeting 50 lakh pensioners. This campaign is a collaborative effort involving 17 Pension disbursing banks, Ministries/Departments, Pensioners’ Welfare Associations, UIDAI, and MeitY.

This is to ensure that even the most remote pensioners, as well as super senior/sick/incapacitated pensioners, can benefit from digital Life Certificate submission, comprehensive guidelines have been issued. These guidelines define the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders, including Ministries/Departments of the Government of India, Pension Disbursing Banks, and Pensioners’ Associations.

They also include the nomination of nodal officers, awareness campaigns through banners and posters, equipping bank staff with Android phones, and holding camps for pensioners.

Pensioners’ Welfare Associations have been encouraged to organize camps for DLC submission, and officials from the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare will visit major locations across the country to assist pensioners in using digital modes to submit their Life Certificates.

The Department is committed to making this campaign a resounding success across the nation, ensuring that Central Government pensioners can access their benefits with ease.