New Delhi, June 11, 2024.
More than 6.6 lakh pensioners made use of the ‘Facial Authentication Technology’ in 2023-24 to verify their digital life certificates (DLCs) for pension provided under the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), a rise of over 200 per cent from 2.1 lakh in 2022-23, data released by Ministry of Labour and Employment on Saturday showed.
“Since its launch at EPFO, Facial Authentication Technology based DLCs have been submitted by 2.1 lakh pensioners in 2022-23, which rose to 6.6 lakh in 2023-24 which reflects a growth of 200 per cent year-on-year in the use of this technology. It is also noteworthy that the 6.6 lakh FAT based DLCs in 2023-24 comprise almost 10 per cent of the total DLCs received during the year,” the statement said.
Overall, around 60 lakh digital life certificates were received from the pensioners during the financial year 2023-24, it said. EPFO has more than 78 lakh pensioners, who are required to submit a life certificate every year for continuation of the pension being paid to them.