DLC Campaign 5: 40 Lakh Life Certificates in 5 Days, Face Auth at 80%

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh launched the Nationwide Digital Life Certificate (DLC) Campaign 5 at the National Media Centre, New Delhi, on 6 November 2026. The campaign is run by the Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. A pensioner has to prove each year that he or she is alive to keep the pension flowing, and the DLC lets this be done digitally instead of in person at a bank or office.

The first five days in figures

Over the whole of last year, about 1.17 crore of the 1.92 crore DLCs were made through face authentication.

How the certificate has changed

The minister traced three stages. First came the paper life certificate. Then came biometric authentication by fingerprint. Now face authentication lets a pensioner generate a DLC on a mobile phone, without visiting a bank or office. He said this answers the difficulties older pensioners faced with fingerprints.

Reach of the campaign

• Camps at nearly 3,000 locations, with special effort for remote areas.
• Doorstep service for pensioners who cannot reach a camp.
• Partners include pension disbursing banks, the Ministries of Railways and Defence, the Department of Telecommunications, the Department of Posts, MeitY, UIDAI, State Governments and pensioners' associations.

Pensioners now outnumber employees

Dr Jitendra Singh noted that central government pensioners now number nearly 70 lakh, against about 50 lakh serving employees. Earlier the position was the reverse: some 55–60 lakh employees and about 50 lakh pensioners. He called for using the experience of retired people for Viksit Bharat.

Other points

The minister listed pension reforms such as pension adalats for old cases and grievance redress through CPENGRAMS. Department Secretary Nivedita Shukla Verma described the drive as a whole-of-government effort. A Compendium Booklet and a Coffee Table e-book on DLC Campaign 4.0 were released.