SPARSH — System for Pension Administration (Raksha)

What is SPARSH?

SPARSH, the System for Pension Administration (Raksha); is the Ministry of Defence's web-based system for sanctioning and disbursing pension to defence pensioners. SPARSH is run by the Defence Accounts Department through the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions) at Prayagraj, and it covers pensioners and family pensioners of the Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and Defence Civilian establishments.

SPARSH is not a benefit scheme. SPARSH is the plumbing. It replaced a system in which pension was sanctioned by the defence accounts office and then paid out by a bank or a Defence Pension Disbursing Office. Under SPARSH the Ministry of Defence credits pension directly to the pensioner's bank account, with no disbursing agency in between. The portal states its objective plainly: the right pension at the right time.

What SPARSH does before retirement

• Submission of the pension claim.
• Verification of service and personal data by the pensioner.
• Tracking of the claim through each stage of processing.
• Processing of leave and terminal payments.

What SPARSH does after retirement

• Viewing and updating the profile and family details.
• Viewing pension entitlements and the electronic PPO.
• Downloading monthly pension slips and annual income tax forms.
• Annual identification through a Digital or Manual Life Certificate.
• Registering and tracking grievances.
• Processing of family pension on the death of the pensioner.

Who can use SPARSH?

You can register and use SPARSH if:

• You are a pensioner or family pensioner of the Indian Army, Navy or Air Force, or a Defence Civilian pensioner, whose account has been migrated to SPARSH.
• You are a serving member approaching retirement. The pre-retirement claim, data verification and tracking modules are all in SPARSH.
• You are the spouse or eligible dependent of a deceased defence pensioner and need to initiate family pension.
• You hold a PPO number and a mobile number recorded in the pension record, which is where your credentials are sent.

You cannot use SPARSH if:

• You are a civil pensioner of a central or state government department outside the Ministry of Defence. Those pensions are handled by the CPAO and Bhavishya systems, not SPARSH, and such pensioners are not eligible for a SPARSH login.
• Your pension account has not yet been migrated to SPARSH. Migration was done in phases; until an account is migrated, the old disbursing agency continues to pay and no SPARSH login exists.
• You have no mobile number recorded in your pension record. Credentials are sent by SMS, so the number must be corrected through a service centre or the PCDA (Pensions) helpline before login is possible.

What documents and details do you need for SPARSH?

How to apply for a SPARSH login and complete first-time registration

1. Confirm that your mobile number is recorded correctly in your pension record. Credentials are delivered by SMS, so an outdated number blocks the whole process.
2. Open sparsh.defencepension.gov.in on a phone, tablet or computer. The portal is available 24 hours a day.
3. Enter your User ID, which is normally your PPO number, along with the password sent to your registered mobile number.
4. Set a new password when prompted and note it down. Use the "Forgot Password" option with Aadhaar OTP verification if you lose it later.
5. Open your profile and verify every field: name, date of birth, bank account number, IFSC, address, spouse and dependent details.
6. Raise a service request for any field that is wrong. Do not leave an incorrect bank account or spouse name in the profile; it is the most common cause of a stopped or delayed pension.
7. Complete your annual identification so the pension credit continues uninterrupted.
8. Download the SPARSH mobile app if you prefer to use the same services from a phone.

How to complete SPARSH annual identification

1. Log in to sparsh.defencepension.gov.in and open the Identification section under Services.
2. Choose Digital Life Certificate (DLC) to complete identification using Aadhaar-based authentication, or Manual Life Certificate (MLC) to upload a scanned, signed life certificate.
3. For a DLC, complete the Aadhaar biometric or face authentication as prompted. The SPARSH system is integrated with the Jeevan Pramaan platform, so identification can be completed remotely.
4. Submit and use the View Status option in the Identification tab to confirm that the certificate has been accepted.

Annual identification is a statutory requirement. Pension credit stops until it is completed, and the pensioner has to file a service request to restart it once the certificate is accepted.

Where can you get free SPARSH help?

According to the SPARSH portal, Common Service Centres, banks and India Post Payments Bank branches act as authorised SPARSH service centres and provide SPARSH services free of cost. The "SPARSH Near You" locator under the Contact and Support tab on the portal finds the nearest centre.

A service centre can help with first-time login, profile correction requests, annual identification, downloading documents and filing grievances. Because these services are free, any demand for a fee is unauthorised and should be reported on the helpline.

Common SPARSH problems and how to fix them

• Cannot log in / no password received — the mobile number in the pension record is wrong or outdated. This cannot be corrected online; use a service centre or the helpline.
• Account locked after repeated wrong passwords, use the unlock and password-reset flow on the portal, which works through OTP verification.
• Pension not credited. The two usual causes are annual identification not completed and an incorrect or dormant bank account in the profile. Check the Identification status first, then the bank details.
• Wrong pension amount or missing arrears; raise a grievance ticket from the portal rather than approaching a bank; under SPARSH the bank has no role in computing the pension.
• Family pension not started after a death. The family details in the deceased pensioner's SPARSH profile were incomplete. Take the death certificate and relationship proof to a service centre for assisted filing.
• Name or date of birth mismatch with Aadhaar, blocks the Digital Life Certificate. Either correct the SPARSH record by service request or submit a Manual Life Certificate for that year.

How to raise and escalate a SPARSH grievance

1. Log in to sparsh.defencepension.gov.in and open the grievance registration option under Services.
2. Select the grievance category, describe the issue, attach supporting documents and submit to generate a ticket number.
3. Track the ticket on the portal, and if it is not resolved, escalate on the toll-free helpline 1800-180-5325 quoting the ticket number.
4. For unresolved matters, write to pcdapprayagraj.dad@gov.in or to the PCDA (Pensions), Draupadi Ghat, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh 211014.

Help and contact

• SPARSH toll-free helpline: 1800-180-5325, 9:30 am to 6:00 pm
• Email: pcdapprayagraj.dad@gov.in
• Postal address: PCDA (Pensions), Draupadi Ghat, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh 211014
• Portal: sparsh.defencepension.gov.in, available round the clock
• SPARSH mobile app for Android and iOS
• SPARSH Near You locator under Contact and Support for the nearest free service centre

SPARSH never charges a pensioner for any service, and no SPARSH official will ask for your password or OTP. Treat any call demanding money or credentials in the name of SPARSH as a fraud attempt and report it on the helpline.