Here is good news for the Central government pensioners, who are worried that non-submission of life certificate will result in withholding of their pensions. The Centre has extended the deadline for submission of life certificate for this year till February 28, 2021.
With social media messages doing the rounds that they have to submit the certificate by the November-end, pensioners remain a confused lot. This is despite the government clarifying in September that the deadline was extended till the December-end in view of the pandemic.
The deadline has been extended again in view the prevailing pandemic and the vulnerability of the elderly persons to the infection.
Though submission of the life certificate by the November-end is a routine annual procedure, senior citizens are worried about going to the Pension Disbursing Authorities (PDAs) such as banks and post offices to submit the same amid the pandemic.
The Centre has launched the ‘Jeevan Pramaan’ or digital life certificate six years ago to save pensioners from the hassles of going to the bank and submit life certificates every year.
How to generate DLC
While some tech-savvy pensioners switched to the new mode long ago, many others are now going to the Mee Seva centres and cyber cafes to generate digital life certificates. They complain of problems such as non-integration with the Aadhaar data and other technical issues.
Pensioners can generate life certificate online by using a software application and secure Aadhaar-based Biometric Authentication System. The Digital Life Certificate (DLC) can be stored online and accessed, whenever required.
‘Jeevan Pramaan’ app
Pensioners should have an Aadhaar number and a working cellphone number. They need to download the ‘Jeevan Pramaan’ app and register by entering details such as bank account, Aadhaar number, name, pension payment order (PPO) and mobile number.
On registration, an OTP will be sent to the registered mobile number and a Pramaan ID will be generated after validation.
Pensioners need to use the Pramaan ID and OTP to log into the ‘Jeeven Pramaan’ app. They need to enter Aadhaar number and mobile number after selecting the ‘Generate Jeevan Pramaan’ option.
The PPO number, name, name of the disbursing agency and other details need to be entered. A confirmation message will be sent to the registered mobile number and the DLC will be displayed on the screen after scanning of fingerprint or iris.
In view of the pandemic, the RBI has decided to allow pensioners, family pensioners and ex gratia recipients to submit the scanned copy of the signed life certificates/declaration of the marital status in the prescribed format through e-mail to the respective pension cells from where the pension amount is being withdrawn.