Lok Sabha Question No. 538 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-03
Subject: Digital Life Certification initiative
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri P P Chaudhary, Smt. Shobhanaben Mahendrasinh Baraiya, Shri Nalin Soren

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 538

## ANSWERED ON 03/02/2026

## DIGITAL LIFE CERTIFICATION INITIATIVE

## 538.  Shri P P Chaudhary:

Smt. ShobhanabenMahendrasinhBaraiya:

Shri Nalin Soren:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Ministry has assessed the impact of reduction in exclusion  errors  for  senior  citizens  and  persons  with  limited mobility  in  DumkaLokSabha  constituency  through  the  Digital Life Certificate Initiative, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the number of beneficiaries covered under this initiative, Statewise;
- (c) the  details  of  measurable  reduction  in  processing  time  and administrative burden achieved through Digital Life Certificate;
- (d) whether the Ministry has identified any measurable indicators that reflect improved access to Government services; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof including the number of beneficiaries,
- State-wise?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)

(a) to (e): Digital  Life  Certificate  (DLC)  is  a  mobile  application developed for Aadhaar-based biometric verification of beneficiaries under National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP). The application fetches beneficiary details using Aadhaar, obtains consent,  and  authenticates  identity  through  facial  recognition  or biometric scans. Upon  successful  verification, a real-time life certificate is generated and notified to the beneficiary via mobile.

Digital Life Certificate initiative reduces  exclusion  errors among senior citizens and persons with limited mobility by eliminating the need for physical visits to offices for life certification. By enabling self-digital verification using Mobile Application  and  doorstep-based  verification,  the  initiative  ensures timely submission of life certificates, thereby preventing avoidable stoppage of pensions and ensuring continuity of income support for vulnerable beneficiaries.

DLC  initiative  has  led  to  reduction  in  processing  time  and administrative burden by replacing manual, paper-based verification is with real-time digital authentication. With DLC,  verification completed instantaneously or within 24-48 hours.

A steady increase in the number of life certificates generated digitally  since  it  was  launched;  indicate  wider  reach  and  easier access for beneficiaries, especially senior citizens and persons with limited  mobility.  However,  NSAP  guidelines  categorically  provide that  no  beneficiary  shall  be  denied  assistance  amount  on  the grounds  of  non-availability  of  a  bank/Post  Office  account  and/or Aadhaar number. The Government has also issued directions to all States/UTs  to  ensure  that  the  use  of  technology  and  digitization does not impede the delivery of benefits to beneficiaries. Details of DLCs  registered  in  the  DumkaLokSabha  Constituency,  along  with information on active beneficiaries and DLCs registered under NSAP

pension schemes (State/UT-wise) are provided at Annexure.

*****

Annexure

Annexure  referred  to  in  parts  (a)  to  (e)  of  LokSabhaUnstarred Question  No.  538  to  be  answered  on  03.02.2026  regarding  Digital Life Certification initiative

## Details of DLC registered in DumkaLokSabha constituency

|   S.No. | District      | Total active BeneficiaryTotal DLC Registered   |   Total active BeneficiaryTotal DLC Registered |
|---------|---------------|------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|
|       1 | DUMKA 52091   | DUMKA 52091                                    |                                          29720 |
|       2 | JAMTARA 38974 | JAMTARA 38974                                  |                                          23749 |
|       3 | DEOGHAR 44820 | DEOGHAR 44820                                  |                                          19886 |

(Source: NSAP-PPS portal)

## State/UT-wise  details  of  Active  beneficiary  (as  per  NSAP-  PPS Portal) and DLC registered

4

1

1

0

2

0

| S.No.State           |   Total Active Beneficiary |   Total DLC Registered |
|----------------------|----------------------------|------------------------|
| 1ANDAMAN and NICOBAR |                        588 |                    447 |
| 2ANDHRA PRADESH      |                    2289991 |                      4 |
| 3ARUNACHAL PRADESH   |                      50338 |                      1 |
| 4ASSAM               |                     818456 |                 277976 |
| 5BIHAR               |                    4595741 |                  22465 |
| 6CHANDIGARH          |                       4964 |                      1 |
| 7CHHATTISGARH        |                     804882 |                 603649 |
| 8DELHI               |                     140627 |                    224 |
| 9GOA                 |                      13684 |                      0 |
| 10GUJARAT            |                     724889 |                 486442 |
| 11HARYANA            |                     443964 |                     35 |
| 12HIMACHAL PRADESH   |                     116005 |                     28 |
| 13JAMMU and KASHMIR  |                     135313 |                  36450 |
| 14JHARKHAND          |                    1097732 |                 605825 |
| 15KARNATAKA          |                    1396243 |                 454215 |
| 16KERALA             |                     856962 |                      2 |
| 17LADAKH             |                       7157 |                    410 |
| 18LAKSHADWEEP        |                        256 |                      0 |
| 19MADHYA PRADESH     |                    1952949 |                  28757 |
| 20MAHARASHTRA        |                    1210245 |                 318763 |
| 21MANIPUR            |                      64170 |                  26519 |
| 22MEGHALAYA          |                      65344 |                  17345 |

<!-- image -->

| 23MIZORAM                                   |    27441 |     463 |
|---------------------------------------------|----------|---------|
| 24NAGALAND                                  |    62055 |       0 |
| 25ODISHA                                    |  1945205 |   55402 |
| 26PUDUCHERRY                                |    28986 |       0 |
| 27PUNJAB                                    |    52822 |   43804 |
| 28RAJASTHAN                                 |  1144601 |     150 |
| 29SIKKIM                                    |     1924 |       0 |
| 30TAMIL NADU                                |  1766374 |       4 |
| 31TELANGANA                                 |   710643 |      16 |
| 32 DADRA and NAGAR HAVELI and DAMAN and DIU |    19446 |       0 |
| 33TRIPURA                                   |   137970 |   89810 |
| 34UTTARAKHAND                               |   229166 |      11 |
| 35UTTAR PRADESH                             |  5832339 |    1495 |
| 36WEST BENGAL                               |  2013452 | 1758201 |
| TOTAL                                       | 30762924 | 4828914 |

(Source: NSAP-PPS portal) *****