Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Dr Jitendra Singh presented the 9th National Anubhav Awards at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on 17 August 2026. The ceremony was held together with the 60th Pre-Retirement Counselling (PRC) Workshop organised by the Department of Pension and Pensioners Welfare (DoPPW). Fifteen retiring and retired officers were honoured for sharing their work experiences, while two key documents to support pensioners were also released at the event.
What Are the National Anubhav Awards?
The Anubhav portal, which means experience in Hindi, was launched in March 2015 on the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is managed by the Department of Pension and Pensioners Welfare (DoPPW), the nodal department for pension policy for Central Government employees. DoPPW functions under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and is headquartered at Lok Nayak Bhawan, New Delhi. The department was set up in 1985 and is responsible for framing rules under the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972.
The portal was built by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) as part of the Pension Mission Mode Project under the National e-Governance Plan. It provides a platform for retiring and retired employees of the Central Government, Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and 12 Public Sector Banks to share their work experiences. Officers can voluntarily submit a write up of up to 5,000 words, describing commendable work, innovations, and suggestions for improving governance. These write ups are reviewed by the Head of Office and Head of Department before being published.
To encourage participation, the government started the Annual Anubhav Awards Scheme in 2016. The idea is simple. When experienced officers record what they learned, that knowledge is not lost at retirement. Instead, it creates a searchable repository that can guide future reforms and motivate serving employees. It also channels the human resource of retirees for voluntary service after retirement, helping build a culture of good governance.
Eligibility for the awards is clearly defined. Employees who are due to retire in the next 8 months or who retired in the last 3 years can submit their experiences. For the 2026 awards, all write ups published on the portal between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026 were considered. The scheme has steadily grown. More than 14,000 experiences have been shared so far, and the 2026 edition received 2,141 published write ups, the highest number yet.
The 9th Ceremony at Vigyan Bhawan: Who Was Honoured
The 9th National Anubhav Awards Ceremony was held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on 17 August 2026. Vigyan Bhawan is the government’s premier convention centre, located near India Gate, and regularly hosts national level conferences and award functions. The event was chaired by Dr Jitendra Singh and organised by DoPPW.
A total of 15 persons were honoured. This included 5 National Anubhav Awardees and 10 Jury Certificate winners. Each Anubhav awardee received a medal, a certificate and a cash prize of ₹10,000 transferred digitally to their account. Jury Certificate winners received a medal and a certificate. Since 2023, the Jury Certificate category has been added to recognise more outstanding write ups and widen participation.
The awardees were selected for contributions linked to nation building and administrative improvement. Their write ups covered initiatives such as the Passport Seva Kendra, repeal of outdated rules and framing of new rules suited to present needs, use of technology in administration and accounting, and energy conservation measures. A short film on the 2026 awardees was screened during the ceremony and an Anubhav Awardees Citation Booklet was released.
Senior officials present included DoPPW Secretary Nivedita Shukla Verma, Additional Member (HR) Railway Board Pravash P. Pandey, and Deputy Managing Director of State Bank of India Chander Shekhar Sharma, along with officials from various ministries and departments.
How Awardees Are Selected
Published write ups are divided into three pay scale based categories and judged in two tiers. First, a Screening Committee in DoPPW shortlists entries on criteria such as content, exceptional work, innovation, writing skill, leadership quality, and quality of feedback and suggestions, with a total score of 40 marks. Then an Evaluation Committee (Jury) chaired by the Secretary (Pension) finalises the five best write ups for Anubhav Awards and ten for Jury Certificates.
| Category | Pay Scale Level | Anubhav Awards | Jury Certificates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category 1 | Pay Scale 1 to 6 | 1 | 2 |
| Category 2 | Pay Scale 7 to 12 | 2 | 3 |
| Category 3 | Pay Scale 13 to 17 | 2 | 5 |
Two Key Releases at the Event
Along with the awards, two important documents for pensioners were released. These were the Handbook on Pension Mitra and the Guidelines for the Nationwide Digital Life Certificate (DLC) Campaign 5.
Handbook on Pension Mitra
Pension Mitra is a concept where a welfare officer is assigned to each retiring employee to provide personal handholding. This was formalised in the guidelines for timely payment of retirement dues issued on 10 October 2025 by DoPPW. The officer, nominated by the Head of Office, helps the retiree fill pension forms, complete formalities on the Bhavishya portal, and ensures the Pension Payment Order (PPO) is issued on time. In case of the death of the pensioner, the same officer helps the family in filing for family pension.
The handbook released on 17 August 2026 is a consolidated reference that explains this role and brings together procedures, checklists, and welfare measures for retiring employees. It aims to make the transition from service to retirement smoother and reduce delays in the release of retirement benefits. At the event, DoPPW Secretary also spoke about building an integrated pensioner ecosystem that brings multiple services onto a single window through the Integrated Pensioners Portal.
Guidelines for Nationwide Digital Life Certificate Campaign 5
A Life Certificate is a proof that a pensioner is alive, which must be submitted every year to continue receiving pension. Earlier this required a physical visit to the pension disbursing agency, which was difficult for elderly and differently abled pensioners.
To solve this, the government launched Jeevan Pramaan, the Aadhaar based Digital Life Certificate (DLC), on 10 November 2014. Pensioners can generate a DLC using biometric authentication at home, at banks, at Common Service Centres, or at post offices, without visiting the pension office. In 2021, Face Authentication technology was added in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). This allows DLC generation through a face scan on an Android or iOS phone, which is especially useful for those whose fingerprints have faded.
Since 2022, DoPPW has run a month long Nationwide DLC Campaign every November to create awareness and set up camps:
| Campaign | Period | Coverage | DLCs Generated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Campaign 1.0 | 1 to 30 November 2022 | 37 cities | About 91 lakh by March 2023 |
| Campaign 2.0 | November 2023 | 597 locations in 100 cities | 1.47 crore, of which 25.41 lakh through face authentication |
| Campaign 3.0 | 1 to 30 November 2024 | 800 districts with 1,900 camps and 1,100 nodal officers | 1.30 crore, with 39 lakh through face authentication |
Campaign 3.0 was supported by 19 pension disbursing banks, 785 district post offices, 57 pensioners welfare associations, Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA), India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) with 1.8 lakh Gramin Dak Sevaks for doorstep service, and technical support from MeitY and UIDAI. More than 8 lakh DLCs from pensioners aged above 80 were generated in that campaign.
The Guidelines for DLC Campaign 5 released at the Vigyan Bhawan event lay down the operational plan for the next edition of this saturation approach campaign. While the detailed schedule will be notified separately, the guidelines set the framework for bank exhibitions, nodal officers, camp locations, and use of face authentication, so that no pensioner is left out because of lack of access to technology. The campaign continues to keep the traditional physical option open for those who cannot use the digital route.
Understanding the Pre-Retirement Counselling Workshop
The event also hosted the 60th Pre-Retirement Counselling (PRC) Workshop. DoPPW organises these workshops as a regular welfare measure for Central Government employees who are about to retire. The 60th edition brought together about 800 officials posted in the National Capital Region who are due to retire in March 2027.
The workshop informs employees about the steps needed to ensure timely payment of retirement dues. Sessions covered online filing of pension papers on the Bhavishya portal, calculation and timelines for retirement benefits, how to generate a DLC using face authentication, Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) facilities, income tax rules affecting retirees, investment options, and cyber security awareness.
Bhavishya is the online Pension Sanction and Payment Tracking System launched by DoPPW. It allows complete electronic processing of pension cases, real time tracking by the retiree, automatic calculation using fed in rules, generation of electronic Pension Payment Order (e-PPO), pushing the e-PPO to DigiLocker, and opening of bank accounts. Use of Bhavishya has been mandatory for all pension cases since 1 January 2017.
A Bank Exhibition was also organised alongside the workshop. 17 pension disbursing banks set up stalls to showcase products and services designed for retiring employees, such as pension accounts, loan facilities, and investment schemes. Similar exhibitions are a regular feature of PRC workshops to connect future pensioners directly with their banks.
Why the Anubhav Initiative Matters
Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Jitendra Singh said pension reforms are not only about paying retirement benefits but also about ensuring dignity, convenience and continued engagement of those who served the government. He described retired employees as a valuable national asset whose long experience can help identify gaps in the system and improve future governance.
The Minister noted that technology driven pension delivery has made the entire administrative system more efficient. Tools such as Bhavishya, Jeevan Pramaan, face authentication, and the Centralized Pension Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPENGRAMS) have reduced paperwork, cut delays, and saved both manpower and financial resources. The Integrated Pensioners Portal, launched in collaboration with the State Bank of India, now seeks to provide all these services with a single login for ease of living.
For serving employees, Anubhav write ups act as practical case studies. They show how small changes, like simplifying a form, digitising a record, or saving energy in an office, can have a large impact. For the government, the repository of more than 14,000 experiences is a low cost, high value feedback system that supports the wider Digital India and Ease of Living goals. The combination of awards that recognise past work and counselling that prepares future retirees creates a complete cycle from service to retirement.
Key Takeaways
- The 9th National Anubhav Awards and 60th Pre-Retirement Counselling Workshop were held on 17 August 2026 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi by the Department of Pension and Pensioners Welfare (DoPPW).
- 15 persons were honoured, including 5 Anubhav Awardees who received a medal, certificate and ₹10,000 cash prize, and 10 Jury Certificate winners who received a medal and certificate.
- The Anubhav portal was launched in March 2015 on the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the awards scheme started in 2016 to recognise write ups published between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026 for the 2026 edition.
- The Handbook on Pension Mitra and the Guidelines for Nationwide Digital Life Certificate Campaign 5 were released at the event to support timely pension processing and digital verification.
- Jeevan Pramaan, the Aadhaar based Digital Life Certificate, was launched on 10 November 2014 and Face Authentication was added in 2021 with support from MeitY and UIDAI, with annual nationwide campaigns held every November since 2022.
