SPARSH : System for Pension Administration (Raksha)
Source : PIB
Governance

What is discussed under SPARSH : System for Pension Administration (Raksha) ?

1. About SPARSH
2. About the Agreement to this effect was signed
3. Need for the SPARSH
4. The major benefits upon implementation of SPARSH

Why in News ?

Ministry of Defence implements web-based integrated system for sanction & disbursement of defence pension SPARSH (System for Pension Administration (Raksha))

Key Facts

• SPARSH is an integrated system for automation of sanction and disbursement of defence pension.

  

• This web-based system processes pension claims and credits pension directly into the bank accounts of defence pensioners without relying on any external intermediary.
• A Pensioner Portal is available for pensioners to view their pension related information, access services and register complaints for redressal of grievances, if any, relating to their pension matters.
• It is a Comprehensive Pension Package (CPP), an end to end Online System facilitating and easing every aspect of Defence Pensions from Initiation to Disbursement
• An establishment of Service Centres aims at providing last mile connectivity to pensioners who may not be able to directly access the SPARSH portal for any reason.
• In addition to several offices of the Defence Accounts Department which are already functioning as Service Centres for pensioners the two largest banks dealing with defence pensioners have been co-opted as Service Centres.
  1. State Bank of India (SBI)
  2. Punjab National Bank (PNB)
• Agreement to this effect was signed
  • Under the agreement, the pensioners can approach various branches of these two banks for obtaining any service relating to their pension issues.
• Need for the SPARSH
  • Current challenges in the pension sanctioning and disbursement process such as Decentralized solution existing in silos, Manual intervention in processing, Lack of Centralized information for addressing pensioner queries etc.
• The major benefits upon implementation of SPARSH are :
  • Timely and correct payment to the pensioners.
  • Accurate and real time status of pension budget.
  • Multiple channels for pensioners to avail different departmental services.
    • Portal
    • Mobile App
    • Service Centres
  • Call Centre availiability. 
  • Structured and SLA based grievance redressal mechanism.

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