A lot of times in the past we have written about how technology is shaping the very present we live in and the future we are about to experience. Looking at the efforts from Government, it seems as if even they aren’t looking to keep any stone unturned to use technology and create a great experience for Indians.

Jeevan Pramaan, a Digital Life Certificate (DLC) is another example of proactive use of technology.

In previous times, a pensioner would sign and submit the Life Certificate form provided by Pension Distributing Agencies (PDA) such as banks, post office, etc. They will approve the same and it will reach Government records. This whole process would take 2-3 months. By chance if the pensioner forgets to fill and submit the Life Certificate Form before it’s due date then they would have to personally visit the Pension offices, go to the relevant department, wait for the officer and submit to him personally. I have done it for a few uncles in my society and trust me it’s an experience we should never have.

Technology can always solve this problem. We have computer, mobile phones and most important of all – a universal account number, Aadhar!

On November 10, 2014 ‘Jeevan Pramaan’ was launched by the Government of India. Jeevan Pramaan is an Aadhar based DLC for pensioners.

Applicability

Pensioners of Central Government, State Government or any other Government organisation

Enrolment Process

Pensioners can generate their DLC by themselves at home or visit a nearby Jeevan Pramaan Centre.

To generate a DLC at home, a pensioner will need to have

• Aadhar Number and it should be registered with the PDA such as Bank or Post office, etc.
• Mobile Number lined with Aaadhar Number
• Biometric Device
• Internet Connectivity
• PC with Windows 7.0 & above Android Mobile/Tablet 4.0 & above
• Log on to https://jeevanpramaan.gov.in/app/downloadand provide your email ID to download the same.

Investing in a biometric device only to be used once a year and going through the hassle of downloading the software is not advisable.

Pensioners should visit the nearby Jeevan Pramaan Centre along with their Aadhar Card, Life Certificate and Mobile number linked with their Aadhar number.

The link to locate a center – https://jeevanpramaan.gov.in/locater

Registration of Pensioner

At the Jeevan Pramaan Centre, pensioner will have to providethe Aadhar number and Mobile number.

An OTP will be generated on the Pensioner’s mobile.

Once the OTP is entered, the system will ask for a biometric verification – fingers and eyes. (Doing it at home will be a tedious process, since the biometric device will have to be lined with the PC or Mobile phone and not to mention, it will have to purchased which is not a wise expenditure for a person living on pension.)

After successful authentication of biometrics, pensioner will be guided towards Digital Life Certificate Generation.

For generating a Digital Life Certificate, following information would be required to be filled.

• Pensioner Name
• Pension Payment Order Number (PPO Number): 12 digit PPO Number is allotted by Directorate Accounting and Entitlement which falls under Ministry of Finance once the person leaves his active service and retires.

Alternatively, a pensioner can find out his PPO Number at PPO Enquiry.

• Type of Pension
• Name of Sanctioning Authority
• Name of Pension Distributing Agency
• Email ID

After all the details are filled by the representative of PDA, a Pensioner will be able to download his/her Jeevan Pramaan, Digital Life Certificate.

The PDAs can access and view the DLC of a pensioner in the Jeevan Pramaan website. The account sign up has been created for Pension Disbursing Agencies / Sanctioning Authorities only (Banks, Post Office, State Govt. etc ).

On the first look, one might feel that it’s an unnecessary waste of resources by the government as the senior citizens are used to dealing with banks, post office, etc. for updating their life certificate every year. Plus, there is a real chance that senior citizens won’t like the change to a digital medium when the normal routine is working for them.

There is a second school of thought too, it will drive away ghost pensioners by instilling accountability on the part of the system. When authentication is done via Aadhar and its linked biometrics of a person, the system would understand that they are paying pension to a person who is alive and not dead.

Yet there is one more hassle of installing the software on the personal computer and purchasing biometric scanners. Also for senior citizens, a pension distributing bank would be nearby their house than a Jeevan Pramaan Centre for digital authentication. In such a scenario, Government can come up with Jeevan Pramaan Agents who will bring their own laptops and biometric devices to senior citizen’s houses and update their Digital Life Certificates.

These agents can be put on commission basis so that an alignment of interest will be created. Plus, it won’t take more than 15 minutes for them to update it. Such a scenario would be a Win/Win for both the senior citizens as well as government and its effort to bring down ghost pensioners saving taxpayers money going into the wrong hands.

Yes, ghost pensioners are real. Do click the following links which date back to 2017.

• Delhi municipal bodies paid Rs 1942.82 crore to ghost pensioners?
• Aadhaar shock for port trust ‘ghost pensioners’ 

– Jinay Savla