Chandigarh, November 5, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Thursday announced new digital initiatives under the Pensioner Sewa Portal (PSP), including mandatory Aadhaar-based e-KYC for all registered resident pensioners by December 31, 2026, and a dedicated WhatsApp chatbot facility for Non-Resident Indian (NRI) pensioners.
Highlighting the portal’s performance since its launch on November 1, 2025, Cheema said it had digitised more than three lakh pension records, facilitated nearly three lakh Digital Life Certificates and processed pension disbursements worth approximately Rs 12,000 crore.
Addressing a press conference at Punjab Bhawan, the Finance Minister said the platform had enabled around three lakh Digital Life Certificates, 1.7 lakh e-KYCs and 1.3 lakh online services within six months.
Sharing the detailed figures, he said 3.05 lakh pension records and 3.50 lakh Pension Payment Order (PPO) PDFs had been digitised. The portal had processed 2,98,993 Jeevan Pramaan Patra (JPP) completions, 1,73,211 KYC applications and 49,663 Leave Travel Concession (LTC) applications.
The platform had also handled 36,000 JPP data reconfirmation requests, processed 14,359 online pension cases from District Treasury Offices to banks and facilitated the downloading of 1.8 lakh pension slips.
Additionally, it had processed 4,250 pensioner grievances, 1,005 treasury or bank change requests, 284 correction detail requests and 7,500 succession death applications, Cheema said.
He said integration with the Jeevan Pramaan facility had enabled pensioners to submit Digital Life Certificates from their homes. As a result, adoption had increased from six per cent to 96 per cent, reducing the need for physical visits to treasuries.
Cheema added that the combination of JPP-based e-KYC and Jeevan Pramaan data had enabled dual verification to help prevent fraud. Automated payment calculations had also helped identify underpaid pensioners, leading to corrections in their pension amounts as the pilot initiative was being expanded.
The minister said pensioners could access their personal details, avail online services within a maximum delivery timeline of 21 days and track application status in real time. He added that Haryana was exploring the system, while Rajasthan had received a demonstration of the paperless platform.
Aadhaar e-KYC Mandatory for Resident Pensioners
Announcing the new requirement, Cheema said Aadhaar-based e-KYC would be mandatory for all pensioners registered on the portal. Resident pensioners must complete the process by December 31, 2026, while NRI pensioners have been exempted for now.
He said the process takes around two minutes and can be completed through the official online portal or by visiting a District Treasury Office, pension-disbursing bank or Sewa Kendra.
WhatsApp Chatbot Facility for NRI Pensioners
The Finance Minister also announced a dedicated WhatsApp chatbot facility for pensioners residing overseas. The service will enable NRI pensioners to submit their Manual Life Certificates conveniently, reducing procedural difficulties and eliminating the need for physical visits.
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