Pension related benefits reach more J&K residents following UT transition: Minister

New Delhi, June 16 (IANS) Union MoS for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Dr. Jitendra Singh on Tuesday said that 12 years of governance benefits and pension reforms reached a wider section of employees and pensioners in Jammu & Kashmir after the transition of the erstwhile State into a Union Territory.

Dr. Singh said that the reorganisation of Jammu & Kashmir increased the number of Central government employees in the region, bringing with it certain initial workload and service-delivery challenges, according to an official statement.

These challenges have been progressively resolved through coordinated efforts of government and associated institutions, the minister said.

At the event, the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare and Jammu & Kashmir Bank jointly launched an initiative to expand pension-related services and improve accessibility for pensioners across the Union Territory.

Singh said the partnership would further strengthen service delivery mechanisms and enable a larger number of pensioners in Jammu & Kashmir to access the benefits of ongoing pension reforms with greater convenience.

The Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare is now being viewed as an institution genuinely committed to Pensioners’ Welfare instead of a pension-processing institution due to reforms of the last decade, he said.

The minister credited Bhavishya platform for a major reform in pension administration by enabling end-to-end digitisation of pension processing. Pension Payment Orders are now integrated with DigiLocker, ensuring seamless, paperless and transparent access to pension documents for retirees.

The introduction of Digital Life Certificates through Face Authentication Technology enabled pensioners to submit life certificates from their homes using mobile phones.

Dr. Singh said that the nationwide Digital Life Certificate campaign conducted in November 2025 witnessed unprecedented participation, with over 1.91 crore Digital Life Certificates generated across the country, including more than 1.16 crore through Face Authentication Technology.

The government has also strengthened grievance redressal through CPENGRAMS, thematic review mechanisms and National Pension Adalats, enabling faster resolution of pension-related grievances.

Reforms in family pension, additional pension, retirement benefits and cases involving missing employees have further strengthened the social security architecture for pensioners and their families, he added.

—IANS

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