Digital Life Certificate: Employees Pension Fund Organization or Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has more than 78 lakh pensioners. It is necessary to submit life certificate every year to continue getting pension. In the financial year 2023-24, 6.6 lakh EPS pensioners submitted their life certificate through face authentication technology under the Employee Pension Scheme (EPS). This shows a year-on-year increase of 200 percent compared to the financial year 2022-23. In the financial year 2022-23, 2.1 lakh pensioners used face authentication technology. Earlier they had to go to banks to submit physical life certificates, which had many problems.
According to a press release from EPFO, 10 percent of the total digital life certificates submitted in the financial year 2023-24 were created through face authentication technology (FAT). A total of about 60 lakh DLCs were received from pensioners during the last financial year.
EPFO adopted Digital Life Certificate (DLC) in 2015 to make the life of its pensioners easier. EPFO accepts DLC from EPS pensioners based on biometric authentication. EPFO adopted this face authentication technology in July, 2022 which will enable pensioners to do a completely new process of submitting DLC from their homes.
To submit biometric based DLC, pensioners will have to visit any bank, post office, common service center or EPFO office branch as fingerprint/iris capture device is available there.
To reduce the difficulties faced by the elderly in physically visiting the bank/post office etc., MeitY and UIDAI have developed Face Authentication Technology (FAT), under which face recognition technology can be used for proof of life certificate. This method allows pensioners to be identified by facial scan using a smartphone camera from the comfort of their homes. This authentication is done from UIDAI’s Aadhaar database using the UIDAI Face Recognition App.
Here is a step-by-step guide for Android smartphone users-
You need an Android (version 7.0 or above) non-rooted smartphone with at least a 5-megapixel front or rear facing camera. Needless to say, you also need internet connectivity.
Step 1: Go to Google Play Store and install the ‘AadhaarFaceRd’ app. According to the Life Certificate website, once the app is installed, it will not appear on the phone’s home screen and will not have any icon. “The app appears in Settings and then App Info,” the Life Certificate website states.
Step 2: Now download and install the Life Certificate Face app from Google Play Store.
Step 3: Once on the Life Certificate app, complete the operator authentication process. Any individual, including pensioners, can register as an operator.
Step 4: Type in your details and complete the Aadhaar-based face authentication process for pensioners.
“After successfully authenticating yourself through face scan, the application automatically restarts and a toast message is displayed: ‘Client Registration Successful’ indicating that the operator registration has been successful,” Life Certificate said in a guide document.