Every year, millions of elderly pensioners must submit their life certificates to the institutions they previously worked for, typically by the end of November.
To make this process easier and digital, the government has introduced facilities for creating Digital Life Certificates (DLCs).
As part of the largest campaign to date, more than 1.8 lakh pensioners obtained their DLCs on the first day.
This update was shared by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions.
Nationwide Campaign Runs Throughout November
The Department of Pension and Pensioners Welfare launched the third and largest National Digital Life Certificate Campaign, active from 1 to 30 November across 800 cities and districts in India.
According to a ministry statement, this is the biggest DLC campaign yet, with 1.81 lakh DLCs generated as of the first day.
The campaign involves partnerships with the CGDA, Department of Telecommunications, Railways, UIDAI, and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and aims to reach pensioners even in remote areas.
Additionally, 19 banks, 785 district post offices, and 57 welfare centers are participating in this month-long initiative.
Facial Recognition Technology for Easy Submission
The campaign also introduces facial recognition technology for submitting life certificates.
Pensioners can now submit their DLCs from home using a face recognition app on their smartphone, eliminating the need to visit a bank or post office.
This technology, powered by UIDAI, aims to digitally empower pensioners by simplifying the certificate submission process.
Compatible with Android and iOS
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) announced that facial scan-based DLCs, which accounted for 6.6 lakh submissions in 2023-24, represent about 10% of total DLCs received for the year.
In total, around 60 lakh DLCs were submitted by pensioners last financial year.
The government’s goal is to increase the digital empowerment of pensioners, with facial recognition now available for both Android and iOS users.
In June, EPFO recorded a significant rise in pensioners using facial authentication, with DLC submissions increasing from 2.1 lakh in 2022-23 to 6.6 lakh in 2023-24.
