Pensioners across India will be able to submit their annual life certificate from a phone using a face scan, as the government runs its biggest-ever Digital Life Certificate (DLC) campaign through November.
The Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare will hold the fifth nationwide DLC campaign from 1 to 30 November 2026 in 2,000 cities and districts. Using a "saturation model", it aims to generate 2.30 crore digital life certificates, of which 1.50 crore are to be face-authenticated. The guidelines were notified through an office memorandum dated 13 August 2026.
What changes for pensioners
The campaign's main push is face authentication, which the department describes as "a seamless and fast mode for DLC generation". It works on both Android and iOS phones, which the department says makes it easy for elderly pensioners. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will provide technical support.
Camps will be run in an "Utsav" (festival) mode, offering extra services such as health check-ups and Aadhaar updates for pensioners. Doorstep services will be provided where needed, and grievance officers will handle DLC complaints with what the department calls "an immediate resolution approach".
Who is involved
The department is taking a whole-of-government approach. Nineteen banks, 785 district post offices, 56 pensioners' welfare associations, MeitY and UIDAI teams, the Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA), the Railways, the Department of Telecommunications, the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and state governments will take part. India Post Payments Bank and pension-disbursing banks are also part of the effort.
Mega camps will be held where pensioners are concentrated, and senior department officials will attend them and carry out on-ground reviews in selected states.
Getting the word out
Doordarshan, All India Radio and PIB will publicise the campaign, backed by SMS messages, jingles, short films and posts under the hashtag #DLCCampaign5.
What happens next
The campaign opens on 1 November and runs for the whole month. The release does not list individual camp locations or say how many certificates were generated in earlier campaigns.
Source: official release by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, issued through the Press Information Bureau, Government of India (30 OCT 2026 1:35PM by PIB Delhi). Read the full official text: Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare is conducting Nationwide Digital Life Certificate Campaign 5 from 1st to 30th November, 2026.
How we verified this
VerifiedEvery fact, figure and quotation is taken from the official PIB release (Release ID 2330361) issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions on 30 OCT 2026 1:35PM by PIB Delhi; checked against the source on publication. Story written by BDT from that release; no outside facts added.
Sources
- 1.Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare is conducting Nationwide Digital Life Certificate Campaign 5 from 1st to 30th November, 2026 — Press Information Bureau, Government of India
