More than 20.48 lakh defence pensioners had submitted digital life certificates by 11 November 2026, according to the Ministry of Defence, making defence pensioners the largest contributing group in the nationwide Digital Life Certificate Campaign 5.0.
The month-long exercise began on 1 November and will continue until 30 November 2026. It is intended to help defence and family pensioners complete their annual identification through digital methods, including services linked to the System for Pension Administration-Raksha (SPARSH) platform.
“A key priority is ensuring that elderly, super-senior, and differently-abled pensioners complete their annual identification conveniently without procedural hardships,” the Ministry of Defence said.
Support available through service centres
The Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA), under the Ministry of Defence, has organised the defence pensioners’ outreach as part of the campaign coordinated nationally by the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
For pensioners who need assistance in completing the process, the Defence Accounts Department has mobilised 194 SPARSH Service Centres. These centres are equipped to help beneficiaries generate digital life certificates and access services available through the SPARSH platform.
The support network listed by the ministry includes:
- 194 SPARSH Service Centres for assistance with digital certificates and SPARSH-related services;
- 4.63 lakh Common Service Centres providing facilities for certificate generation;
- 13 partner banks and India Post Payments Bank; and
- 29 nodal officers supporting implementation of the campaign.
Face authentication gains wider use
A major focus of the exercise is the use of Aadhaar-based face authentication through the Jeevan Pramaan portal and mobile application. The ministry said that more than 80 per cent of the digital life certificates submitted by defence pensioners had been generated through face IDs.
The facility allows pensioners to authenticate their life certificate with a smartphone. This is particularly relevant for older beneficiaries and those who may face difficulty travelling to an office or completing a conventional identification process. The campaign also includes approximately 80 outreach programmes being held across the country.
Digital life certificates are used for the annual identification of pensioners. For defence pensioners and family pensioners, the campaign combines the SPARSH system with assisted access points, banks, India Post Payments Bank and Common Service Centres. The Ministry of Defence said the arrangements were designed to provide ground-level support while encouraging greater use of technology-enabled authentication.
| Campaign detail | Position reported |
|---|---|
| Campaign period | 1 to 30 November 2026 |
| Defence pensioners with DLCs by 11 November | More than 20.48 lakh |
| SPARSH Service Centres | 194 |
| Certificates generated through face IDs | More than 80 per cent |
The Ministry of Defence described the participation of defence pensioners as the highest among all departments involved in the national campaign. The initiative remains open to eligible defence and family pensioners until 30 November 2026, with the listed physical support network intended to assist those who require help in completing their annual identification.
