OREANDA-NEWS. February 04, 2015. The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh has said that the government has been prompt in disposal of grievances received from pensioners from across the country. The Minister was addressing a meeting of All India Standing Committee of Voluntary Agencies of Pensioners (SCOVA), here today. As many as 11,390 pension related complaints had been settled by his department, he added.

Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the present government has announced a number of innovative measures to make the delivery of pension and related documents much more convenient and less time- consuming. In this context, he referred to the Aadhaar based “Jeevan Pramaan Package” launched by Prime Minister on November 11, 2014 which enables the pensioners to register online their life certificates in digital format. In this way, it eliminates the requirement for an elderly pensioner to physically walk all the way to the concerned authorities to deliver a certificate of his being alive, he said. So far, as many as 39,000 pensioners have already availed of the facility to submit their life certificates online, the Minister added.

As a part of the significant progressive e-Governance plan, Dr. Jitendra Singh informed that the Department of Pensions has started a web-based pensioners’ portal which is expected to serve as one-stop information source for pensioners across the country. The information available on the pensioners’ portal will include pension rules, different pension schemes, orders issued from time to time, pension calculation process, etc., he added.

In order to avoid delays, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, an online pension sanction and payment tracking system called “Bhavishya” has been introduced and so far 25 Ministries and Departments have already been initiated into this system. Similarly, he said, another web-based application called “Sankalpa” has been developed which provides a platform for pensioners to access opportunities available for useful interventions in the society.

Secretary Pensions, Govt of India, Shri Alok Rawat and Joint Secretary, Smt. Vandana Sharma made presentations on the occasion.