Replacing a Fragmented Pension System
Before SPARSH, defence pensions were administered through more than 45,000 disbursing agencies, including banks, treasuries, and post offices. This decentralised structure often resulted in delays, inconsistencies, and limited visibility for pensioners regarding their entitlements.
SPARSH has consolidated the entire pension lifecycle sanction, disbursement, grievance handling, and revisions onto a single digital interface. Pensioners can now access detailed pension information online, submit corrections, and track the status of their requests without intermediaries.
94.3% Legacy Discrepancies Successfully Resolved
One of the most significant achievements of the SPARSH rollout has been the resolution of legacy data discrepancies. Out of 6.43 lakh discrepant cases migrated from earlier systems, 6.07 lakh cases amounting to 94.3 percent have been normalised without affecting pensioners’ financial entitlements.
This large-scale data correction exercise has strengthened trust among veterans and reduced dependency on manual interventions, ensuring smoother pension disbursement across categories.
Faster and More Transparent Grievance Redressal
Grievance resolution has seen dramatic improvement under the SPARSH ecosystem. The average grievance redressal time has reduced sharply from 56 days in April 2025 to just 17 days by November 2025.
According to the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, the Defence Accounts Department has achieved a 73 percent satisfaction score, placing it fifth among all central ministries and departments. This reflects the growing confidence of pensioners in the system’s transparency and responsiveness.
Reaching Elderly and Non-Tech Savvy Pensioners
Recognising the challenges faced by elderly and digitally less literate pensioners, the government has complemented SPARSH with extensive physical outreach initiatives. During the current financial year, 284 SPARSH Outreach Programmes and 194 Raksha Pension Samadhan Ayojans were conducted nationwide.
These camps enabled on-the-spot resolution of more than 8,000 grievances, providing hands-on assistance and ensuring that no pensioner is left behind in the digital transition.
DLC 4.0 Campaign Sets New Benchmarks
Under the nationwide Digital Life Certificate (DLC) 4.0 campaign conducted from November 1 to 30, 2025, SPARSH achieved the highest DLC generation among all departments. The Defence Accounts Department mobilised 202 offices, 4.63 lakh Common Service Centres, and 15 partner banks.
By the end of November, 20.94 lakh Digital Life Certificates had been generated for defence pensioners, significantly easing annual verification processes and reducing physical visits for senior citizens.
Real-Time Pension Disbursement and OROP Implementation
In the financial year 2024–25, a defence pension budget of Rs 1,57,681 crore was disbursed in real time through SPARSH, ensuring timely and accurate payments. The implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP)-III in July 2024 further demonstrated the platform’s efficiency.
Within just 15 days of rollout, Rs 1,224.76 crore was disbursed to 20.17 lakh beneficiaries, highlighting SPARSH’s ability to manage large-scale financial operations with speed and precision.
A Model for Digital Governance and Veteran Welfare
SPARSH stands today as India’s largest unified pension system and the only fully integrated digital pension solution for defence personnel. By combining technology with targeted outreach, it has enhanced dignity, accessibility, and financial security for veterans and their families.
The initiative underscores the government’s broader vision of leveraging digital governance to improve ease of living while honouring the service and sacrifice of India’s armed forces.
