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The Indian government’s Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare is set to launch its fourth and most extensive nationwide campaign for Digital Life Certificates (DLCs) from November 1 to 30.
The month-long drive, which aims to ensure the annual submission of life certificates for pension continuity, will span 2,000 districts and sub-divisional headquarters across India, according to an official statement issued on Monday.
The ambitious initiative—termed DLC Campaign 4.0—is positioned as the largest-ever outreach, targeting the generation of 2 crore DLCs. Its primary focus will be leveraging face authentication technology to ensure “universal coverage and ease of living for pensioners,” the Personnel Ministry statement said.
The campaign is a massive collaborative effort involving 19 pension disbursing banks, the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), various Pensioners’ Welfare Associations, and multiple central ministries and departments, including UIDAI and MeitY.
Crucially, the IPPB will use its vast network of 1.8 lakh postmen and Gramin Dak Sewaks to offer doorstep DLC services in all districts, catering to all categories of pensioners regardless of their bank. IPPB staff are equipped with mobile devices for both fingerprint and face-based DLC generation.
In addition, the 19 participating banks will conduct camps in over 300 cities, with specific provisions for visits to the homes and hospitals of aged, disabled, or sick pensioners. Fifty-seven registered Pensioners’ Welfare Associations will also assist in coordinating camps.
The partner institutions will jointly launch an extensive public awareness campaign via various media channels to inform pensioners about the available DLC submission options.
During the previous iteration, DLC Campaign 3.0, a record 1.62 crore DLCs were generated, with over 50 lakh using the newer face authentication technology. The current campaign seeks to build on that success by ensuring access even in the remotest parts of the country.