Post offices to issue life certificates to pensioners

Post offices to issue life certificates to pensioners

Post offices in Telangana will now aid pensioners avail life certificates and the unemployed find jobs through tie-ups with the Ministry of Labour.

Union Minister of State for Labour Bandaru Dattatreya launched these initiatives in the presence of administrators from the Postal Department here on Sunday.

The schemes are being launched at 36 head offices on a pilot basis before they can be extended to 720 sub-offices in the State.

To provide Jeevan Praman Patra, a life certificate that Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) pensioners have to produce every year to ensure continuation of their pension disbursals, the post offices are an addition to the existing avenues where this document can be submitted to a central repository and also obtained. Upon obtaining the certificate, pensioners can avail pension from the disbursing centres.

“Through transparent and digital processes, it is possible to weed out corruption in the country,” Mr. Dattatreya said, launching the programme.

Five pensioners were given their life certificates during the programme.

The move was expected to benefit nearly 90,000 EPFO pensioners in Hyderabad alone.

For the unemployed, post offices will serve as enrolment centres for the National Career Service (NCS). Registrants will have to provide identity details for enrolment in the database of prospective employees, which is shared with employers in the country.

“We hope to create employment for five crore youth by 2020 through schemes like the NCS,” the Union Minister said, adding that the Centre was planning to organise job fairs from next month.

Secretary, Department of Post, B.V. Sudhakar; Chief Postmaster General Brigadier B. Chandrashekar, Postmaster General for Hyderabad P.V.S Reddy, and BJP MLAs Kishan Reddy and Raja Singh were also present on the occasion.

Source : http://www.thehindu.com