Latest news with #SPARSH
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Struggling with basic tasks like logging in, military pensioners say SPARSH portal fails them
The Ministry of Defence launched SPARSH (System for Pension Administration Raksha) to simplify pension delivery for India's military veterans. But many ex-servicemen say the centralised digital system has only added to their troubles — from inaccessible interfaces to endless corrections that never seem to stick. At the SPARSH facilitation centre in Chandigarh Sector 9, the complaints keep coming. Most are from veterans and widows struggling with basic tasks like logging in, uploading life certificates, or fixing small errors in their pension records. 'The pension comes, but when something goes wrong, the system turns into a maze,' said Lt Colonel S S Sohi (retd), president of the Ex-Servicemen's Grievance Cell. 'Even a misspelt name or wrong date of birth takes multiple online applications to correct.' The NGO, active since 2003, holds weekly meetings where veterans line up with unresolved cases. Many lack the digital literacy or family support to manage an online-only system. And the facilitation centre has no authority to amend records. 'We just collect forms and forward them. After that, it's out of our hands,' a staffer at the centre said. Among the initiative's loudest critics is retired army officer Lt Col R K Bhardwaj, who is spearheading a social media campaign under the hashtag #SPARSHFailsVeterans. He says nearly half of all military pensioners, especially older veterans in rural areas, still cannot access or use the portal effectively. 'Many don't even know how to log in, and the website keeps throwing errors,' Bhardwaj wrote on social media. According to Bhardwaj, tens of thousands of complaints have been stuck in the pipeline for over a year. A Defence Accounts meeting in Lucknow last October revealed that about 6.5 lakh pension-related grievances remained unresolved. The cases are often Kafkaesque. Subedar Pritam Singh, retired from the Army, is still 'dead' on official papers decades after he survived an attack on a train in 1984 that led to his wrongful death declaration. He now receives his pension but continues to submit life certificates every year to prove he exists. For an 85-year-old widow in a remote village, SPARSH has turned what used to be a simple visit to her bank into a monthly ordeal. Illiterate and without digital devices, she relies entirely on neighbours to navigate the portal. Others, like Vinder Singh, face bureaucratic nightmares unrelated to the software. Singh, who lost all his service records and savings when his bag was stolen in 1997, has been unable to restore his documents despite years of effort. 'Without those papers, you are nothing,' he said. Veterans' frustration with SPARSH has even reached Parliament. On March 10, Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose sought data on how many ex-servicemen remain stranded without pensions. Veterans are now demanding that those above 60 or retired before 2016 be allowed to opt back into the old bank-based system. Some are even calling for a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit of SPARSH's performance. Col Sohi says his NGO will keep fighting. 'We're not here to criticise. We just want the system to work. Our veterans deserve at least that,' he said. 'If letters to the authorities don't work, we take legal recourse—and not one of our cases has been dismissed.' The writers are interns with The Indian Express.
New Indian Express
12-07-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
12 new SPARSH centres set to be rolled out in TN
CHENNAI: In a bid to reach out to 2.05 lakh defence pensioners, 12 new SPARSH (System for pension administration - Raksha) centres are likely to be rolled out soon in the state. The move, announced by T Jayaseelan, Controller of Defence Accounts, marks a significant expansion of the digital pension platform aimed at replacing the legacy pension disbursement system for veterans. Tamil Nadu currently has just three operational SPARSH centres — in Vellore, Tiruchy and Nagercoil. A fourth centre will open in Madurai in August, with more to follow in the coming months. 'This expansion will bridge the access gap and bring essential pension services closer to our veterans,' said Jayaseelan at a press briefing in Chennai on Friday. Tamil Nadu has emerged as an early mover in adapting the new system to local needs.
India Gazette
06-07-2025
- Business
- India Gazette
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to inaugurate Controllers' Conference 2025 on July 7
New Delhi [India], July 6(ANI): The Defence Accounts Department (DAD) will host the Controllers' Conference 2025 from July 7 to 9 at the Dr SK Kothari Auditorium, DRDO Bhawan, New Delhi. The conference will be inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on July 7, in the presence of top military and civilian leadership including Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, the three service chiefs, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, Financial Adviser (Defence Services), S G Dastidar, and Controller General of Defence Accounts Mayank Sharma, marking it as a key platform for shaping the future of India's defence financial architecture said Ministry of Defence. A flagship forum for policy dialogue, strategic review, and institutional innovation, the Controllers' Conference brings together top leadership from DAD, the civil service, academia, think tanks, and stakeholders across the defence and finance sectors. It serves as a vital platform for evaluating challenges, initiating reform, and advancing the role of financial governance in defence preparedness. The theme of this year's conference, 'Transforming Financial Advice, Payment, Audit and Accounting through Defence Finance and Economics,' reflects a paradigm shift within the department, repositioning DAD from a finance & accounts body to a future-ready institution focused on Defence Finance and Economics. This transformation, guided by the strategic vision articulated by the Raksha Mantri on October 01, 2024, is internally driven, inclusive, and aligned with emerging national security imperatives. The transition is anchored in DAD's new mission statement and Motto 'Alert, Agile, Adaptive' which will be formally released during the event. The conference will feature eight high-level business sessions (Manan Satras), covering areas such as budget and accounts reform, internal audit restructuring, collaborative research, pricing innovation, and capacity building. These sessions will explore the evolving role of Integrated Financial Advisors (IFAs) in balancing fiscal prudence with strategic support for a competitive and self-reliant defence industry. Managing a defence budget of Rs 26.8 lakh crore, including Rs 1.7 lakh crore dedicated to pensions, DAD plays a pivotal role in payroll, pension disbursement, audit, procurement pricing, and strategic financial advice. The MoD statement stated that over the past year, the department has made significant strides in digital transformation, with flagship reforms such as 'SAMPURNA': an AI-driven, end-to-end automation system for defence procurement and payments, which enhances transparency and agility. 'SPARSH' is now serving over 32 lakh pensioners. This digital platform has redefined pension delivery with transparency and accessibility. 'SPARSH VAN', a mobile outreach innovation launched in Tamil Nadu, delivering pension services directly to veterans' doorsteps and 'e-Raksha Awaas': Automated recovery of over Rs 500 crore in rent, generating Rs 2,700+ crore in rent bills. Defence Travel System (DTS) and AI-based procurement tools: Building a smarter, data-centric financial network for defence Since the last Controllers' Conference, DAD has conducted 206 outreach programmes and established over 200 service centres across India strengthening last-mile delivery and stakeholder engagement. Training and upskilling remain central to the transformation, with institutions like NADFM Pune and CENTRAD Delhi driving officer education in defence economics, data analytics, and digital resource management. DAD's audit functions are also evolving into advanced Management Information Systems (MIS) that provide early risk indicators, performance benchmarks, and decision-support frameworks. Aligned with the MoD's declaration of 2025 as the Year of Reform, the conference is expected to yield actionable outcomes that will fortify India's defence financial architecture--driven by Atmanirbhar Bharat and committed to maximum governance with minimum government. The deliberations will lay a robust fiscal foundation to strengthen national defence capabilities and ensure that financial systems are agile, responsive, and strategically aligned with India's long-term security goals. (ANI)
The Hindu
30-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Modi government has been increasing funds for defence sector in every budget, Union Minister Murugan
Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan on Monday said that the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been increasing the allocation of funds in the budget every year for modernising the defence sector and to procure latest military equipment. The Narendra Modi government had ushered in huge changes in the defence sector with the aim of making the country 'Atma Nirbhar' (self-reliant) in defence production capabilities, Mr, Murugan said. He was inaugurating the 206th Outreach programme of SPARSH (System for Pension Administration - Raksha) in Tiruchi for the defence and family pensioners to redress their grievances. The Centre had promoted two defence corridors — one in Uttar Pradesh and the other in Tamil Nadu. Due to the establishment of the defence corridors, imports of defence equipment had come down. Several defence equipment were manufactured in the country and exported, Mr. Murugan said attributing it to the efforts of Prime Minister Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The Centre had implemented the long-pending demand of One Rank One Pension, he said and added that the Prime Minister had been providing a transparent government. The Controller General of Defence Accounts, New Delhi, Mayank Sharma, said SPARSH was a fully automated pension sanction processing and disbursement system. Under this programme, the Defence Accounts Department was processing and disbursing pensions to about 32 lakh defence pensioners which is about 50% of the total number of Union government pensioners. The SPARSH programme, being monitored at the highest level, was being organised in different parts of the country to hear the problems of the defence pensioners and try to find system-based and process-based solutions. The level of satisfaction was high, he said. Lieutenant-General Karanbir Singh Brar, General Officer Commanding of Dakshin Bharat Area, Chennai, and T. Jayaseelan, Controller of Defence Accounts, Chennai, spoke. The Minister flagged off five SPARSH mobile vans which will travel to all districts in Tamil Nadu for the next 10 days to redress the grievances of the defence and family pensioners at their doorstep. Mr. Murugan gave away cheques worth ₹1.50 crore to 14 defence and family pensioners. Over 4,000 defence and family pensioners from Tiruchi and other districts attended the mega event. Seventy five counters were put up along with computers, printers, scanners, finger print devices for the defence and family pensioners. Around 200 grievance officers of Controller of Defence Accounts, Chennai, representatives from PCDA (Pensions) Prayagraj, record offices, public sector banks, and other agencies attended to the grievances of defence and family pensioners.
The Hindu
28-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
SPARSH grievances redress camp for Defence pensioners to be held in Tiruchi on June 30
A SPARSH (System for Pension Administration-Raksha) grievance redress camp for Defence pensioners will be held in Tiruchi on June 30. The camp would be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Army Parade Ground at Mannarpuram in the city, T. Jayaseelan, Controller of Defence Accounts, Chennai, said in a press release. Separate stalls will be established at the camp to attend to grievances under various categories. Officials from the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts, Allahabad, and Record Offices of the tri-services and banks would attend the camp. Defence pensioners from across Tamil Nadu, especially those from Tiruchi and its neighbouring districts, can utilise the camp. Those attending the camp are required to appear with relevant documents. Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan would participate in the camp and flag off five Mobile SPARSH vehicles for extending SPARSH services to pensioners across Tamil Nadu, Mr. Jayaseelan said in the release.
