Digital Life Certificate at your Door Step -- How To

Background

Welcome to Jeevan Pramaan. Digital Life Certificate for Pensioners is the tag line on https://www.jeevanpraman.gov.in and it has been a great improvement from earlier when (central {Indian} government) pensioners were to physically visit a bank and submit a set of documents and show themselves in person every November to enable the government give their well deserved pension. It was laborious, it was time consuming and with age it was difficult, but with no other option it was something that all pensioners did. The bank sent those papers to a central processing unit and the retired person got his pension. It was nowhere digital!

Last couple of years it has gone digital thanks to the biometric that is part of Aadhar. While people still had to go the bank or a Jeevan Pramaan center and submit a form, their presence was verified by their thumb impression which verified that the pensioner was alive! In case a pensioner could not visit a bank - a bank person would visit the house (on request at their own convenient time - because they were to do their own work!) and verify the presence of the pensioner and then went back to their bank and digitally verified that he had seen the pensioner.

Thought Jeevan Pramaan did have an option where anyone could do it from their home but given that most pensioners were not digital savvy and the whole setup required a "specific" biometric device (aside of a windows computer or an Android phone) which had a yearly license cost etc. It was and is in theory possible to setup at home but it was just not practical.

This year (2020). The postal department started the DLC at your doorstep and this is a welcome change they use the Jeevan Pramaan application themselvesbut come home with a biometric device and do the needful.

How do you get a DLC at home? 

If you have 

1. an Aadaar number (16 digits) and 
2. a linked mobile phone (10 digits) 
3. PPO number
4. Bank account number where you receive your pension
5. INR 70 to be paid to the postman (no receipt!)
   

 you are good.

Day x:

1. Step 1: Download postinfo (an Adroid Application)
2. 
   
   Step 2: Click on the Service Request (Enter Name, Address, Pincode, email address, Mobile number, Select Service as IPPB - Jeevan Pramaan (DLC).
3. 

   
   Step 3. Request for OTP (enter the OTP received on the mobile number entered above)
   

You are done. Your service is registered. You will get an email (with a link where in you can check the status of your service request) and a SMS message.

Day x+2/x+3: 

Now the post office closest to the PIN code entered by you will call you up and fix an appointment (Yes, you heard right).

Day x+4:

Someone from the post office comes and during the process (should take no more than 10 minutes) the pensioners mobile number will get 2-3 OTP's (1-2 from postal department and 1 from aadhaar) which need to be given for the process to proceed + your finger print.

Lo the digital certificate is ready. Immediately.

Things to look out for.

1. The postman carries a mobile which might not have internet connectivity (so you might have to lend him your hotspot or your wifi credentials)
2. Since pensioner might have given their biometric long time earlier, there is a chance that the Aadhaar server refuses to authenticate. There is no hope here. You will then need to visit a bank!  

Useful Financial Express Article which you might want to read.