The Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) has successfully launched the nationwide Digital Life Certificate (DLC) Campaign 3.0, aimed at enhancing the digital empowerment of pensioners. This initiative, aligned with the Prime Minister’s vision for digital empowerment, is being conducted across 800 cities and towns from November 1-30, 2024, in collaboration with key stakeholders including Pension Disbursing Banks, CGDA, IPPB, and UIDAI.
As part of this national campaign, a Mega DLC camp was held in Hyderabad, coordinated by the Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA), Ministry of Defence. The camp was attended by more than 600 defence pensioners who were introduced to the innovative Face Authentication Technique for the submission of Life Certificates. The use of this new technology has received widespread praise for its convenience, particularly for elderly, disabled, or hospitalized pensioners.
The event saw the participation of Shri V. Srinivas, Secretary (Pensions), DoPPW, who reviewed the campaign’s progress and interacted with defence pensioners, bank officials, and pensioners’ association representatives, including the General Officers Pensioners’ Association, ISRO Retired Employees Forum (IREF), and All India Retired Railwaymen’s Federation. A team from UIDAI was also present to assist pensioners with Aadhaar record updates and to resolve any technical issues.
The camp was attended by senior defence officials such as Ms. Devika Raghuvanshi, CGDA, Shri Betham, CDA Hyderabad, and Colonel Commandant of the Corps of EME, who addressed the pensioners and emphasized the significance of digital empowerment through the Sparsh platform.
Pensioners and associations highlighted the positive impact of digitalizing the life certificate submission process, especially for pensioners who may find it difficult to travel. Many expressed gratitude for the convenience of the Face Authentication Technique, which has enabled pensioners to submit their certificates from the comfort of their homes or even hospitals.
Secretary Srinivas also underscored the Department’s commitment to improving the ‘Ease of Living’ for pensioners, noting that this campaign would help ensure the widespread adoption of the Face Authentication technology, especially in remote areas.
The DLC Campaign 3.0 is being implemented in over 35 cities across Telangana, with more than 80,000 pensioners benefiting from the initiative. The Sparsh outreach program is also covering over 73,000 defence pensioners across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, with the efforts of more than 50 senior-level officers coordinating this large-scale initiative.
