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Facial Authentication Technology (FAT) for Digital Life Certificate (DLC) Submission
Context:
FAT introduced for EPS (Employee Pension Scheme) Pensioners’ DLC, ensuring secure and efficient verification processes for pension disbursement.
More on News:
- Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has over 78 Lakh pensioners who are required to submit a Life Certificate annually for pension continuation.
- Earlier, physical life certificate submission at banks posed challenges and grievances for pensioners.
- In 2022-23, 2.1 lakh pensioners submitted FAT based DLCs.
- In 2023-24, the number increased to 6.6 lakh, showing a 200% year-on-year growth.
Adoption of Digital Life Certificate (DLC):
- Introduced in 2015 to enhance “Ease of Living” for pensioners.
- DLCs based on biometric authentication accepted from EPS pensioners.
- Required physical presence at banks, post offices, Common Service Centres, or EPFO offices for fingerprint/iris capture.
Facial Authentication Technology (FAT):
- Developed by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITy) to minimise physical visits for pensioners.
- It was implemented by EPFO in July 2022.
- Allows submission of DLCs from homes using android based smartphones.
- The authentication is carried out against UIDAI’s Aadhaar database using UIDAI’s Face Recognition App.
Procedure:
- Pensioners need to install “Aadhaar Face RD“ (registered Device) and “Jeevan Pramaan” apps on their smartphones.
- Operator authentication is done through Aadhaar-linked mobile numbers.
- Detailed guidelines are provided in apps for successful face scan.
- After completion, DLC submission confirmation was provided on mobile screen with Jeevan Pramaan ID and ( Pension Payment Order)PPO number.
Dissemination and Awareness:
- Detailed instructions are issued to field offices to popularise the new method among pensioners.
- Explanations are provided in field offices during Nidhi Apke Nikat programs in all districts from January 2023.
- The Nidhi Aapke Nikat Programme: EPFO stakeholders come to the EPFO field offices for grievance redressal.
- Nidhi Aapke Nikat 2.0: EPFO will reach out to stakeholders, thereby increasing accessibility and visibility of the organisation, in all the districts of the country.
- Detailed instructional video available on EPFO’s official YouTube handle @SOCIALEPFO.