New Delhi, May 13 (IANS). Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr. Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday that there has been a major change in India’s pension system in the last decade. It is no longer just a process-based system but has become a technology-based, citizen-centric and hassle-free system with special focus on dignity, transparency and ease of living of pensioners.
Addressing the 16th All India Pension Adalat held at Vigyan Bhawan in the national capital, Jitendra Singh said pensioners should not be seen as mere beneficiaries of government assistance, but as experienced citizens who have made significant contributions to nation building. His experience, expertise and institutional understanding are a great asset to the country.
He said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government is continuously working towards making pension administration simple, sensitive and accountable.
In the 16th Pension Adalat organized by the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare, 985 long-pending pension cases involving 37 ministries and departments were taken up, which were pending for more than 45 days as on April 15, 2026.
So far, 728 of these cases have been resolved, which is about 74 percent of the total complaints.
During the proceedings, 26 important matters related to 16 ministries and departments were presented before Jitendra Singh. Of these, 12 cases were related to Defense Ministry, 8 cases were related to Home Ministry and 2 cases were related to Railway Ministry, while the rest were related to other ministries and departments.
8 pensioners and family pension recipients attended the Pension Adalat in person. These included beneficiaries from Akola in Maharashtra and Haldwani in Uttarakhand. At the same time, 18 other people from different parts of the country participated through video conferencing. These included cities like Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, Bikaner in Rajasthan, Kolkata and Erode in Tamil Nadu, which shows the growing reach of this initiative across the country.
In one case resolved through the pension court, pension amount of more than Rs 74 lakh was released, while in two other cases around Rs 46 lakh each was paid to the beneficiaries.
Referring to the pension reforms that took place since 2014, the Minister said that there was a time when the pension department was not much in the news and worked in a limited administrative structure. But due to continuous reforms, digital technology and citizen-centric decisions, it has now become one of the most accountable government departments.
He also mentioned the use of biometric authentication and digital technology to ease the life certificate process.
Referring to several reforms undertaken in recent years, Dr. Singh said that family pension rules have been simplified. Old rules related to missing persons have been removed, procedures for divorced and separated daughters have been simplified and relief has also been given to disabled dependents.
He said that administrative officials should work with solution-based thinking so that citizens can get timely and effective results and not get entangled in mere processes.
The Minister said that Pension Courts have emerged as an effective medium for resolution of long pending and complex complaints.
A total of 15 Pension Adalats have been held so far since the launch of this initiative in 2017, in which 27,812 cases were taken up. Of these, 19,948 complaints were resolved, representing a success rate of over 71.72 per cent.
The remaining cases were resolved later through a coordination and review process between ministries.
–IANS
DBP
