Agencies
New Delhi, Dec 1: A whopping 1.3 crore digital life certificates were generated during a month-long special campaign by the government to further simplify the process for pensioners across the country.
The Department of Pensions and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) successfully concluded the digital life certificate (DLC) campaign 3.0 on November 30, a statement issued by the Personnel Ministry said.
It was launched to simplify digital life certificate submissions, particularly for super senior pensioners, it said.
The campaign is the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the digital empowerment of pensioners and to further increase their ease of living, said V Srinivas, secretary of DoPPW.
"Under the leadership and guidance of Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh, the DLC campaign 3.0 was India’s largest campaign held in 800 district headquarters with 1,900 camp locations and 1,100 nodal officers.
"An all-time high 130 lakh pensioners submitted their DLCs, with 39 lakh DLCs submitted through face authentication technology," Srinivas said.
He said the State Bank of India reached a landmark of 11 lakh DLCs, Punjab National Bank 2.75 lakh DLCs, and India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) 7.5 lakh DLCs.
Each of the 17 pension disbursing banks achieved over 40 per cent DLCs during the campaign, said Srinivas, a 1989 batch Indian Administrative Service officer of Rajasthan cadre.
The campaign was a success because all stakeholders -- the Controller General of Defence Accounts, Railways, IPPB, banks, pensioners' welfare associations, Employees Provident Fund Organisation, and Unique Identification Authority of India came together to work for a collective cause, he added.
"The DLC is a boon for pensioners. It makes life easier and secure in old age. It was widely adopted across the nation in all states and districts," Srinivas said.
The campaign was the largest-ever campaign conducted for improving pensioners' welfare in India and it generated 1.3 crore DLCs, according to the statement.
This groundbreaking technology proved particularly beneficial for; elderly pensioners with faded fingerprints, differently-abled individuals facing mobility challenges, and pensioners living in rural and remote areas, it said.
Pensioners need to submit a life certificate annually for the continuation of their pension. Traditionally, these life certificates were submitted in physical mode only which was inconvenient for the pensioners.
In November 2014, an Aadhaar-based scheme for online submission of digital life certificates, Jeevan Pramaan, was launched by Modi to ensure transparency in the system and facilitate the pensioners to submit life certificates at their comfort, thus greatly enhancing their ease of living. |
