The government on Wednesday launched a software, ?SANGAM?, to handle defence pensions. However, observers are sceptical of the software?s efficacy, given the low computer literacy levels in the junior ranks.
Nand Kishore, controller general, Defence Accounts, said: ?SANGAM will facilitate issuance of corrigendum pension payment orders. It will address the ex-servicemen?s demand for issuance of individual corrigendum pension payment orders consequent to implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations.?
About 18 lakh defence pensioners will benefit from SANGAM in the long run. The project is one step forward from project SUVIGYA, which was launched in October last year. It will also address the pensioners? grievance on correct pension payments.
Reacting to the launch of the new software, Wg Cdr C K Sharma (Retd), who is also the Indian Ex-servicemen Movement (IESM) treasurer, said: ?If SANGAM is going to do all that is being claimed, then it would be a very positive step, as this has been a long-standing demand after the the Sixth Pay Commission. However, what is not clear is whether this software will be operated by the CGDA (Controller General of Defence Accounts) staff or the DPDOs (Defence Pension Disbursement Officer) or the banks??
?Around 90% of the defence pensioners live in villages and remote/suburban areas, and are not familiar with computers. So, who will help them? The banks, despite being paid Rs 60 per month per defence pensioner on their rolls, are unable to cope with the requirements of these village-resident pensioners,? a former jawan said.
The previous software SUVIGYA, while catering to the senior officers, had no facility for the various Trades or Groups under which the Junior Commissioned Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and ORs fall, pointed out Sharma, adding that ?as per the ministry?s statement, digitisation of all the details of all the pensioners has not been done. In that case, how would the combination of SUVIGYA and SANGAM help??
Group Capt S S Phatak, Head, Pension Cell, IESM, asked, ?How do the pensioners access this programme, knowing their literacy level??
According to a defence ministry press release, ?The pension payment orders to be issued using SANGAM software will be a special corrigendum pension payment system that will contain all the basic details of the original pension payment order. It will also have details of family pension, disability pension and any other type of pension available to a pensioner. The new corrigendum pension payment order is unique in the sense that it gives new ID to each pensioner which will be helpful in readily accessing all data relating to a pensioner.?