New Delhi — Over 31.69 lakh defence pensioners across India and Nepal have been onboarded on SPARSH, the digital platform for pension administration of defence personnel, as of November 2025, according to the Ministry of Defence.
SPARSH, short for System for Pension Administration Raksha, is administered by the Defence Accounts Department through the office of the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions), Prayagraj.
The platform aims to provide end to end digital management of defence pensions, replacing an earlier system that involved more than 45,000 banks, treasuries and post offices.
The statement said that 94.3 per cent of legacy discrepant cases migrated from earlier systems have been resolved. Of the 6.43 lakh discrepant cases identified during migration, around 6.07 lakh have been normalised without affecting the pension entitlements of beneficiaries.
Officials said outreach efforts were undertaken to assist elderly pensioners and those with limited access to digital services. A total of 284 SPARSH Outreach Programmes and 194 Raksha Pension Samadhan Ayojans were organised across the country. During the current financial year, more than 8,000 grievances were resolved on the spot through these programmes.
SPARSH improves grievance redressal timelines
The statement noted an improvement in grievance redressal timelines. The average time taken to resolve grievances declined from 56 days in April 2025 to 17 days in November 2025.
As per the latest report of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, the Defence Accounts Department recorded a satisfaction score of 73 per cent, placing it fifth among ministries and departments.
Under the nationwide Digital Life Certificate 4.0 campaign conducted between November 1 and 30, 2025, the Defence Accounts Department mobilised 202 offices, 4.63 lakh Common Service Centres and 15 partner banks, supported by 27 nodal officers.
By November 30, a total of 20.94 lakh digital life certificates had been generated for defence pensioners, the highest among all departments, the statement said.
On pension disbursement, the statement said that during the financial year 2024-25, a defence pension budget of Rs 1,57,681 crore was disbursed on a real time basis through SPARSH.
It added that the third phase of One Rank One Pension, implemented in July 2024, facilitated the disbursal of Rs 1,224.76 crore to 20.17 lakh beneficiaries within 15 days.
SPARSH has been positioned by the government as a unified digital platform intended to ensure timely and accurate pension payments to defence pensioners and their families.
