RBI introduces Digital Life Certificate for pensioners

As RBI has onboarded  to JeevanPramaan portal as Pension Sanctioning  Agency  (PSA) and  Pension Disbursing Authority (PDA), the  option of submitting Digital Life Certificate (DLC) has been introduced effective this year ( November 1, 2019) for RBI’s  Pensioners, Family Pensioners and Ex-Gratia Recipients .
DLC is  an alternative to the existing option of submitting the Life Certificate physically  to its various Regional offices.
RBI’s  circular dated 12th September, 2019 says:
“… it has now been decided to also accept Digital Life Certificate (i.e. Jeevan Pramaan -issued under the Digital Life Certificate for Pensioners Scheme of the Government of India). Jeevan Pramaan scheme launched by Government of India enables pensioners to generate and submit a Digital Life Certificate (DLC) using a software application and secure Aadhaar based biometric authentication.”
Accordingly, all the pensioners now will have 2 options to submit the required Life/ Marriage / Re-marriage Certificates  .
Option 1 – Digital Life Certificate (DLC)
Those who prefer to submit DLC (Option 1) will necessarily have to submit their Aadhaar details to the Bank for updation in Samadhan.
DLCs generated through Jeevan Pramaan will not be accepted in Samadhan if the Aadhaar details are not available.
Those desirous of option 1 may  submit a copy of the Aadhaar Card to their Regional Office by September 30, 2019 along with Pensioner ID, Employee ID (issued by Samadhan and mentioned on the Pension statement), Mobile number and Email address.

After  Aadhaar particulars and details as above are submitted  to the  Regional office (Samadhan), any of the following methods may be used for generation of DLC.
You can obtain a DLC from:
1. Citizen Service Centre (CSC ) located across India
2. Office of Pension Disbursing Agencies (PDA) such as Post Office, Banks, Treasury etc.
You may locate Citizen Service Centres/PDAs at  CSC locator.
The Pensioner has to provide to CSC information as under:
Aadhaar Number, Name, Mobile Number and self declared Pension Related Information like PPO Number, Pension Account number, Bank details, Name of Pension Sanctioning Authority, Pension Disbursing Authority, etc. The pensioner has to also provide his/her biometrics either Iris or Fingerprint.

Process:

1. Pensioner visits a CSC or office of PDA.

2. He/She provides the required information to the operator. The operator feeds/enters this information into the system i.e JeevanPramaan Application.

3.The pensioner has to then provide his/her biometrics by placing his/her finger on the finger print scanner or eye in front of the Iris scanner.

4. On successful Aadhaar based biometric authentication, JeevanPramaan is generated with a unique id called Pramaan Id.

5. An acknowledgement message quoting the Pramaan Id is sent as an SMS to the mobile number provided by the pensioner.

Note – The JeevanPramaan/DLC thus generated is subject to approval of the Pension Sanctioning/Disbursing Authority as provided by the pensioner.

3. It can also be generated from home/any location on a Windows PC/Laptop( ver 7 & above) or Android Mobile ( KitKat & above ) by installing JeevanPramaan Application.

1.   A STQC certified Biometric Device ( finger print scanner/ Iris scanner) is required.
2. To convert a ‘public biometric device’ to a Registered device -a software called “Registered Device service’ referred to as RD service  is required.
3. ‘RD Service’ of the Biometric Device being used should be installed on the PC/Laptop/mobile.
4.  The ‘JeevanPramaan Application’ has to be installed on your PC/mobile. It can be downloaded from the ‘Download’ tab from https://jeevanpramaan.gov.in portal.
5.  An Internet Connection is required.

• Certified Biometric devices are available online by contacting the manufacturers. The finger scanners are available from Rs. 2500/- onward and Iris scanners are available from Rs. 5000/- onward. Prices may vary. The certified vendors may give the  exact prices when contacted.

Frequently Asked Questions (DLC)

Option 2 – Hard Copy Life Certificate
As per existing process Pensioners,Family Pensioners and Ex-gratia Recipients may submit hard copy of Life Certificate to any Regional Office. The HR administrator will scan the Certificate and upload it in the Samadhan. Once approved the Life Certificate will be considered to be submitted.
Option 2 needs no clarification.

The utility of submission of DLC vs. traditional Life certificate may be a personal choice.
But we must consider the fact the majority of Pensioners, family Pensioners and Ex-gratia recipients are not computer literate. Moreover, the submission of DLC by a pensioner himself  through  mobile/ tablet/ Desktop/laptop needs investment and a  learning curve which seems steep for the Pensioners. It may be opted by those who stay abroad.

As regards visiting a CSC for DLC a pensioner has to locate the CSC and reach him and pay a nominal fee, whereas for submission of  hard copy of LC he has  avenues open like seeking help from  ex-colleagues  or sending by post etc. when away.

In the circumstances, we feel the majority of Pensioners may continue to submit the Hard copy of the prescribed Life Certificate.