SPARSH (System for Pension Administration Raksha)

Subject : Governance

Context : Recently, the Ministry of Defence has implemented SPARSH (System for Pension Administration Raksha).

Concept :

SPARSH (System for Pension Administration Raksha)

It is an integrated system for automation of sanction and disbursement of defence pension.
It is a web-based system which processes pension claims and credits pension directly into the bank accounts of defence pensioners without relying on any external intermediary.
It is an end to end Online System facilitating and easing every aspect of Defence Pensions from Initiation to Disbursement.
It is being implemented for meeting the pension sanction and disbursement requirements for Armed Forces viz. Army, Navy, Air Force and Defence Civilians.
It will be administered by the Defence Accounts Department through the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions), Prayagraj.

Significance of SPARSH

It 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 envisages establishment of Service Centres to provide last mile connectivity to pensioners who may be unable to directly access the SPARSH portal for any reason.
The two largest banks dealing with defence pensioners i.e. State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank (PNB) have been co-opted as Service Centres.
It will interface all the stakeholders and provide a single source of truth thereby ensuring transparency, accountability and ease of doing business through information dissemination.