NEW DELHI: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences and Minister of State for PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh today reiterated the Government’s commitment to ensuring Ease of Life and Pensioners’ Welfare, stressing that technology and digital interventions must ultimately translate into simpler and more accessible services for pensioners and their families.
Addressing the 17th Pension Adalat organised by the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) at T. N. Chaturvedi Memorial Hall, IIPA, New Delhi, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that pension administration must continuously learn from the experiences and difficulties faced by pensioners and work towards removing shortcomings in the existing system. At today’s Adalat 756 of 897 grievances were redressed, thus achieving 84.2% redressal rate. he Minister lauded PM Sh Narendra Modi for introducing the concept of ‘Panchayat Adalat’ in 2017.
The Minister emphasised the importance of identifying gaps in pension delivery and addressing them through continuous improvement. He said that the objective of pension reforms is not merely technological advancement but ensuring that the benefits of reforms reach the last mile and make a tangible difference to pensioners.
The 17th Pension Adalat took up 897 grievances relating to family pensioners and super-senior pensioners for expeditious redressal. As on October 5, 2026, 756 cases have been redressed, registering a redressal rate of 84.2 per cent. The remaining cases are being pursued for redressal in the coming days, reflecting the Government’s continued focus on timely grievance resolution and Pensioners’ Welfare.
Dr. Jitendra Singh highlighted the growing use of digital technology in pension-related services and said that efforts are being made to make processes simpler through digital identity and face-recognition based mechanisms. He stressed the need to continuously inform pensioners about such facilities so that they can make full use of the available digital services.
Referring to the Digital Life Certificate initiative, the Minister underlined the importance of campaigns and awareness programmes to ensure that pensioners are able to obtain digital certificates conveniently. He noted the significant scale achieved through such initiatives and stressed that greater awareness and outreach would further strengthen their impact.
Dr. Jitendra Singh also highlighted the role of media and public communication in taking pension reforms to pensioners across the country. Referring to the positive results achieved through earlier awareness campaigns, he called for continued efforts to use modern communication tools to ensure that pensioners and their families remain informed about available services and reforms.
The Minister further said that technology should be used not only for routine service delivery but also for identifying issues and improving the overall pension administration system. He said that wherever gaps or avoidable difficulties are noticed, they should be reported and addressed so that the system can continuously improve.
Dr. Jitendra Singh stressed that Pensioners’ Welfare remains central to the Government’s approach and that technological interventions should be accompanied by sensitivity towards the needs of pensioners and family pensioners.
The Minister also referred to the continuing efforts to simplify pension-related procedures and improve support for families of pensioners. He emphasised that reforms must remain focused on practical difficulties faced by beneficiaries and should contribute to greater Ease of Life.
The 17th Pension Adalat brought pensioners and concerned Ministries and Departments together for the presentation and consideration of pension grievances. The programme included the presentation of cases before Dr. Jitendra Singh by the Joint Secretary (Pension). The proceedings enabled grievances to be examined directly and facilitated coordinated efforts towards their expeditious redressal.
During the adalat, Flyers on Success Stories of the 16th Pension Adalat and the e-booklet “Bringing Ease in the Life of Family Pensioners” were released. The publications highlight the Government’s continuing efforts towards effective grievance redressal and improving the experience of pensioners and family pensioners.
The 17th Pension Adalat is part of the institutional mechanism developed by the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare for the meaningful, accessible and expeditious redressal of pensioners’ grievances.
An exemplary case of Ms. Chander Kanta Jally, whose husband made the supreme sacrifice in 1973. She was sanctioned Liberalised Family Pension. However, due to certain reasons, the family pension paid to her was lower than the amount to which she was entitled. She became aware of this and approached various forums. During the Pension Adalat, Sh. Jaswinder Jally, her son, attended through video conferencing from Chandigarh and presented the grievance on behalf of his mother before the Hon’ble MoS (PP). The case was discussed at length. Subsequently, family pension arrears amounting to Rs. 2.02 crore were released.
Another case involving Ms. Damyanti Sinha, with the help of the Pension Adalat, pensionary benefits of more than Rs. 72 lakh were released.
Both these cases involved super-senior family pensioners.
