Summary of this article
Over 1.4 million super senior citizens (aged 80 and above) submitted digital life certificates in FY2025-26.
Of the total 19 million DLCs generated in FY26, over 11.5 million used face authentication.
Smartphone-based face authentication technology and targeted outreach are easing pension compliance for India’s oldest beneficiaries.
In the financial year 2025-26, out of the total 19 million digital life certificates (DLCs), 1.41 million were submitted by super senior citizens (aged 80 years and above).
For the last couple of years, the government has been running campaigns to spread awareness around online submission of life certificates. The latest in line was DLC 4.0, launched in FY2025-26.
On a question of its impact on the elderly, super seniors and differently-abled pensioners, asked by Parliamentarian Bajrang Manohar Sonwane in Lok Sabha on April 1, 2026, Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s office, Jitendra Singh, said, “A total of 1.90 crore (19 million) DLCs were generated from April 1, 2025 to March 24, 2026 including 1.15 crore (11.50 million) DLCs generated through Face Authentication Technique. More than 14.16 lakh (1.41 million) DLCs were generated by super senior pensioners above 80 years of age.”
Incidentally, the annual DLC submission process runs from November 1-30 every year for senior citizens and one month earlier, from October 1, for super senior citizens.
When Was Biometric Based DLC Introduced?
The government introduced biometric devices in 2014 to make the annual submission process convenient for pensioners. Subsequently, in 2021, it introduced the face authentication technology usable on smartphones. The government leveraged the smartphone-based technology to reduce pensioners’ dependence on external biometric devices, thereby enabling them to use their own smartphones to complete the submission process.
What Changes Did The Government Introduce To Make DLC Submission Easy?
After launching face authentication in DLC submission, the government, from 2022, has been holding campaigns at various locations in identified districts, towns, and cities to spread awareness and provide an online submission service. Several other initiatives have also been taken since then to further smoothen the process. These include utilising the services of Post Offices, India Post Payments Bank, and Gramin Dak Sevaks, as well as providing doorstep services to those facing difficulties in submitting the DLCs by themselves, such as sick, incapacitated, or differently-abled pensioners.
“All pension disbursing banks have been directed to generate regular reports of pensioners who have not submitted DLCs, and to ensure that the DLCs are obtained for continuity of pension. Outreach meetings are also held for training and dissemination of awareness among all stakeholders, especially for pensioners above 80 years of age in the pre-Campaign phase for increasing effectiveness of the Campaign,” the minister added.
