NRIs must get email option for life certificate: BPS

The Bharat Pensioners Samaj (BPS) is urging the central government to allow overseas pensioners and family pensioners to submit life certificates via email. Currently, pensioners living abroad face various challenges when submitting their annual life certificates, such as biometric and facial authentication failures, lack of access to Aadhaar-linked mobile numbers, limited digital proficiency, and difficulties in reaching Indian embassies or consulates.

These issues can result in long travel times, high costs, and delays in receiving the certificate from India.

BPS has proposed an alternative solution in which pensioners should be allowed to submit the scanned PDF copy of their authenticated life certificates through their registered email IDs. This new option would require the pension-disbursing bank to have the email address of the pensioner already recorded as part of the KYC process.

By submitting the document electronically, pensioners can avoid the issues related to biometric authentication, lack of mobile connectivity, and the need for physical travel to Indian embassies or consulates.

Avinash Rajput, secretary general of BPS, mentioned that the SPARSH system administered by the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts already provides an electronic mechanism for overseas defence pensioners to transmit authenticated life certificates through the prescribed channel. Extending this facility to civilian and railway pensioners would ensure administrative uniformity and technological consistency for all Central Government pensioners.

BPS has requested that this proposal be considered as a priority in consultation with several concerned stakeholders, including the Department of Financial Services, the Reserve Bank of India, and the Ministry of External Affairs. The pensioners' body has also urged the government to issue suitable instructions before the upcoming Annual Life Certificate submission period to avoid hardship or interruptions in pension payments for overseas pensioners and family pensioners.