Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Anil Chauhan on Thursday in Siliguri inaugurated the Sparsh Outreach Programme which was conducted by Controller of Defence Accounts (CDA) Patna in coordination with HQ 111 Area, at Bengdubi Military Station.
The programme was aimed to enlighten defence pensioners about the various facilities provided by SPARSH, including the robust grievance redressal mechanism. “Detailed briefings were given to acquaint pensioners with the benefits and processes of SPARSH.
Dedicated counters were set up to assist pensioners with registration, pension-related anomalies, grievance redressals, and on-the-spot solutions provided by the CDA team,” said PRO Defence in a press statement.
CDS Gen Anil Chauhan inaugurated the event which was attended by Lt Gen Pawan Chadha and Lt Gen Zubin A Minwalla, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 33 Corps. “The outreach programme was conducted to verify documents, resolve discrepancies, and streamline pension processing through direct engagement with officials,” the statement said.
The event aligns with Ministry of Defence led outreach efforts that bring services closer to veterans, especially those in remote areas or with limited digital access. The CDS hailed SPARSH as a Digital India, DBT-driven, “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance” reform that brings the entire pension lifecycle onto a single platform.
“Pensions are now directly credited by PCDA (Pensions), removing intermediaries and reducing error pathways. Pensioners were made aware of self-service access to verify details, update records, and raise grievances online, improving transparency and timelines,” it added.
Approximately 31 lakh defence pensioners are now onboarded on SPARSH with direct credit into their bank accounts, underscoring the system’s reach. According to a Defence spokesperson, the outreach programme was conducted to verify documents, resolve discrepancies, and streamline pension processing through direct engagement with officials. .
CDS Gen Anil Chauhan hailed ‘Sparsh’ as a Digital India, DBT-driven, “Minimum government, maximum governance” reform that brings the entire pension lifecycle onto a single platform. He said that approximately 31 lakh defence pensioners are now onboarded on ‘Sparsh’ with direct credit into their bank accounts, underscoring the system’s reach.
The event saw an overwhelming response, with a large number of veterans participating actively. The CDS complimented Lt Gen Pawan Chadha and officials of CDA, Patna for the successful conduct of the programme. The event was attended by Lt Gen Pawan Chadha, and Lt Gen Zubin A Minwalla, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 33 Corps.