India News | SPARSH: Def Min Urges Pensioners to Complete Annual Identification by Feb 20

New Delhi, Feb 2 (PTI) Defence pensioners drawing pension through web-based system -- SPARSH -- are requested to complete annual identification by February 20, officials said on Thursday.

SPARSH is a web-based system for processing pension claims and crediting the pension directly into bank accounts of defence pensioners without any external intermediary.

Also Read | Airlines Report 546 Technical Snags During Flight Operations in 2022, Indigo Airline Tops the List, Says Ministry of Civil Aviation.

"All the defence pensioners drawing pension through System for Pension Administration (Raksha) or SPARSH are requested to complete Annual Identification by 20th February, 2023," the defence ministry said in a statement.

The completion of the annual identification and life certification is a statutory requirement for the continued and timely credit of the monthly pension, it said.

Also Read | Maharashtra: Unidentified Man Drives Away With ST Bus From Latur, Leaves It in Karnataka Village.

"It may be recalled that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had earlier approved the extension of pension payment for three months for banks' pensioners, who migrated to SPARSH and whose identification was due in November 2022," the ministry said.

It said 3,19,366 defence pensioners drawing pension through SPARSH have not yet completed their annual identification, as per the information currently available with the Defence Accounts Department, adding, that it is imperative that such pensioners complete the process before the deadline.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)