JOIN USAadhaar card is not mandatory for central government employees to get their pension, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh has said.
In the 30th meeting of the Standing Committee of Voluntary Agencies held here, he said Aadhaar is an additional facility to enable the use of technology for submission of life certificate without the need to visit banks.
His assertion assumes significance as there were reports of some retired employees facing difficulty in getting pension as their bank accounts were not linked with Aadhaar.
The minister clarified that Aadhaar has not been made mandatory for getting pension for government employees.
Aadhaar is a 12-digit number, issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), that acts as identification and address proof.
There are about 48.41 lakh central government employees and 61.17 lakh pensioners.
Singh cited various initiatives started by the central government for the welfare of its employees and pensioners.
"For instance, minimum pension has been increased to Rs 9,000, ceiling of gratuity has been increased to Rs 20 lakh, fixed medical allowance has been increased to Rs 1,000 per month," the minister said.
"Constant attendance allowance has been increased from Rs 4,500 to Rs 6,750 with effect from July 1, 2017. Some benefits relating to income-tax like standard deduction, tax-rebate etc on interest (has been) made available in the Finance Bill, 2018," he said.