6.6 Lakh Pensioners utilize Facial Recognition for Life Certificates
According to data released by the Ministry of Labour and Employment on Saturday. Over 6.6 lakh pensioners utilized ‘Facial Recognition Technology’ to verify their Digital Life Certificates (DLCs) for the pension under the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) in the 2023-24 period. This marks an increase of more than 200% compared to the 210,000 pensioners who used the technology in 2022-23.
Since EPFO started using Facial Recognition Technology, 210,000 pensioners used it to submit their digital life certificates in 2022-23. This number increased to 660,000 in 2023-24, showing a 200% year-on-year growth. Notably, these 660,000 DLCs in 2023-24 make up nearly 10% of all the DLCs received during the year,” the statement said.
During the financial year 2023-24, around 60 lakh digital life certificates were received from pensioners, it said. EPFO has over 78 lakh pensioners who must submit a life certificate every year to continue receiving their pension.
Previously, pensioners had to visit banks to submit physical life certificates. EPFO launched the Digital Life Certificates (DLCs) in 2015. These DLCs, based on biometric authentication, can be submitted by pensioners at any bank branch, post office, Common Service Centre, or EPFO office, where fingerprint or iris capture devices are available.
The Face Authentication Technology (FAT) was developed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to use face recognition as proof of life for certificates. The authentication uses UIDAI’s Aadhaar database and Face Recognition App. EPFO started using this technology in July 2022.
Pensioners use the facial authentication method through two smartphone applications: “Aadhaar Face RD” and “Jeevan Pramaan.” These apps are authenticated via Aadhaar-linked mobile numbers. After the scan is completed in the app, the submission of the digital life certificate is confirmed on the mobile screen, showing the Jeevan Pramaan ID and Pension Payment Order (PPO) number.
