Central government employees, including those serving in the country’s armed forces, periodically raise their concerns at various forums. Employee unions and various representative bodies of government employees have also written to and engaged with the Centre in recent times over issues such as family pension, One Rank One Pension (OROP), and pension commutation.
The National Council of JCM (Joint Consultative Machinery) is also actively engaged in discussions regarding various aspects of central government employee and pensioner welfare. The NC-JCM, a joint body of union leaders and government officials, is working to resolve disputes and improve communication between employees and the government.
The central government held the 34th meeting of SCOVA (Standing Committee of Voluntary Agencies) at Vigyan Bhavan in Delhi on 11 March 2025. Many important problems related to retired government employees and defense pensioners were raised in this meeting. The meeting was chaired by the Union Minister of State (Personnel).
Problems arising on SPARSH portal
It was told in the meeting that after the migration to the SPARSH portal of the Ministry of Defense, many elderly pensioners are facing problems in getting pension. Especially those whose old records are incomplete are facing problems in additional pension, restoration of commutation and timely payment.
SPARSH i.e. System for Pension Administration (Raksha) is an important digital initiative of the Ministry of Defense which was launched in October 2020. This platform is operated by the Defense Accounts Department located in Prayagraj. Pensioners no longer have to visit offices again and again to check pension status, make changes and register complaints.
Earlier, the pension process involved many agencies, long links of banks and a lot of paperwork. This not only caused delays, but errors and lack of information were also common. SPARSH has revolutionized this entire system by bringing it under one roof. Now the entire process from approval to distribution of pension is done online and the pension goes directly to the pensioner’s account.
Problems have been seen in submitting Digital Life Certificate (DLC) for pensioners living abroad. On this, the government said that such pensioners can submit DLC through the Indian Embassy and work is also going on on other digital options.
The government has directed MOD to issue an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) on problems related to SPARSH so that pensioners can get help.
The government will formulate a policy on OROP
The problems of One Rank One Pension (OROP) also came up in the meeting. The government said that this will be discussed separately with the Department of Expenditure.
Demand to reduce the deduction of 15 years to 12 years
At present, the pensioners who take commuted pension, its recovery is done for 15 years. But in view of the decreasing interest rates of RBI, this time is considered to be more. Therefore, pensioners have demanded to reduce it to 12 years so that more money is not recovered.
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The process of starting family pension should be easy
After the death of many pensioners, their families face a lot of difficulty in starting pension. The Pensioners Association demanded that the government create a common procedure (SOP) so that family pension can be received quickly and easily.
In the SCOVA meeting, the government listened to the pensioners seriously and assured action on many matters. Now it remains to be seen when decisions are taken on these demands.