New Delhi: In a landmark move towards digital inclusion, the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions has launched the DLC Campaign 4.0 for pensioners — a month-long drive from 1 – 30 November 2025. Within just the first four days, more than 55 lakh digital life certificates have already been issued, of which 52.73 lakh were submitted using face-authentication technology.
This initiative marks a major shift in how senior citizens certify their eligibility for pension – moving from physical verification to a seamless digital process.
Background of the Digital Life Certificate Campaign 4.0
Every year, pensioners must submit a “life certificate” to continue receiving pension payments. Historically, this required physically visiting banks or pension-disbursing offices — often inconvenient especially for the elderly. The Aadhaar-based digital version, known as Jeevan Pramaan, was launched in 2014 to simplify this.
Read Also: Cyber Diplomacy in 2025: How Nations Are Tackling Cyber Threats, AI, and Digital Conflicts
Building on earlier campaigns (Campaign 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0) that reached increasing numbers of pensioners and districts, Campaign 4.0 sets out to cover nearly 2,000 districts / sub-divisions / cities across India, with a target of generating 2 crore digital life certificates.
The campaign emphasises use of face-authentication technology developed jointly by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), and also includes doorstep services through the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) for pensioners who cannot travel.
Key Details of Digital Life Certificate Campaign 4.0
Massive scale and outreach: The campaign covers close to 2,000 districts, cities and towns, with camps in over 2,500 locations and coordinated by about 1,250 nodal officers.
IPPB alone is organising camps in over 1,600 districts/sub-divisions, leveraging its network of approximately 1.8 lakh postmen/Gramin Dak Sewaks to offer door-step DLC services, irrespective of which bank disburses the pension.
Use of Technology: Face AuthenticationOf the DLCs generated till now, 52.73 lakh were via face-authentication, showcasing strong adoption of this new method.
Face-authentication allows pensioners to submit their life certificate via smartphone or device by matching their face to Aadhaar records — reducing reliance on biometric devices or physical presence. This is especially beneficial for very senior, differently-abled or immobile pensioners.
Special focus on senior and remote pensioners: In Campaign 3.0 last year, more than 85,200 pensioners aged above 90 years, and over 2,200 pensioners above 100 years submitted DLCs.
For 2025, the campaign emphasises visits to homes/hospitals for aged & incapacitated pensioners via banks and post-network.
Stakeholder collaboration: The campaign is a joint effort involving 19 pension-disbursing banks, IPPB, 57 Pensioners’ Welfare Associations, UIDAI, MeitY, EPFO, Railways, Department of Telecommunications, CGDA etc.
Extensive publicity via SMS, social media, short-films and hashtag #DLCCampaign4 is part of the outreach strategy.
Importance of Digital Life Certificate Campaign 4.0
Ease & dignity: For millions of pensioners, especially those who are old, bedridden or living in rural areas, the move removes the burden of long travel and physical verification.
Inclusive reach: The campaign is designed to reach even the remotest pensioners via doorstep services.
Digital empowerment: It fits into the larger “Digital India” and “Ease of Living” initiatives by leveraging Aadhaar, face authentication and wider infrastructure.
Transparency & efficiency: Digital submission reduces paper-based delays, fraud potential and ensures smoother pension flow.
Global recognition: The campaign is being cited as a governance model internationally, as mentioned by Dr Singh.
What Pensioners Should Know & Do
- The campaign runs from 1–30 November 2025.
- Pensioners should ensure their Aadhaar number is linked with their pension-disbursing bank and mobile number is active.
- They may generate their Digital Life Certificate at special camps set up by banks or post-office networks, via doorstep service using IPPB’s postmen/Gramin Dak Sewaks or via their own smartphone using face-authentication (if enabled).
- Super senior, invalid or differently-abled pensioners should request help via the bank or post network for home/hospital visits.
- After successful submission, a “Pramaan ID” will be generated and sent via SMS; certificate can be viewed via the Jeevan Pramaan portal.
Looking Ahead
With over 52 lakh face-authenticated certificates in just the first few days, the campaign is well on track to meet or exceed its ambitious target of 2 crore certificates across the country. As the process becomes more digital and widespread, the hope is that all pensioners will benefit from the reform, irrespective of age or location.
Over time, the success of this campaign may serve as a blueprint for other citizen-service programmes, combining technology, institutional outreach and empathy for the vulnerable.
Read Also: Aadhaar Vision 2032: India’s Bold Step Toward AI-Driven, Privacy-First Digital Identity
