The Defence Accounts Department has launched a nationwide digital life certificate campaign for defence pensioners, veer naris and their families, with services being provided at more than 200 SPARSH centres from November 1 to 30.
The month-long drive is designed to help pensioners submit their annual digital life certificates through Aadhaar-based face authentication. The service uses the Jeevan Pramaan and Aadhaar Face RD applications, allowing beneficiaries to complete the process digitally instead of relying only on conventional document submission methods.
The campaign also includes assistance for pensioners whose Aadhaar details are not linked to the SPARSH, or System for Pension Administration Raksha, portal. Officials at the centres will help beneficiaries link and update their Aadhaar records so they can access the digital certificate process.
Special support is being provided to super-senior citizens aged 80 years and above and persons with disabilities. The assistance is intended to address the practical difficulties faced by beneficiaries who may be unable to complete app-based procedures independently or travel easily to service facilities.
As part of the outreach, the office of the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts, Southern Command, Pune, has opened a new SPARSH service centre at the Guards in Kamptee, Nagpur. The centre was inaugurated by Defence Accounts Department Controller General Alka Nangia Arora on October 27.
The campaign places service-centre performance at the centre of the digital pension system. While the use of Aadhaar-based face authentication is intended to make certificate submission more accessible, some military veterans have raised concerns about delays at SPARSH centres. They said officials sometimes report that the system is slow or unavailable and called for a mechanism to prevent beneficiaries from having to wait for extended periods.
The concerns highlight the administrative challenge of moving a public service online while ensuring that assisted access remains dependable. For elderly and digitally less-literate pensioners, the availability of a physical centre is only useful if staff, connectivity and the underlying pension system function consistently during visits.
The Defence Accounts Department’s digital life certificate campaign will continue at the participating SPARSH centres until November 30. The department’s stated focus is to complete annual certificate submissions, update Aadhaar-linked pension records and provide additional assistance to vulnerable beneficiaries during the campaign period.
