Union Minister of State Dr. Jitendra Singh addressed the 59th Pre-Retirement Counselling Workshop at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, highlighting twelve years of pension and governance reforms reaching central government employees and pensioners in Jammu and Kashmir following the region's transition to a Union Territory.

Context

Speaking at the workshop, Dr. Singh noted that the Modi government's 12 years of governance reforms, including pension reforms, are now 'reaching wider sections of employees and pensioners in Jammu and Kashmir following its transition to UT.' He credited J&K Central Government Pensioners' Associations for playing 'a constructive role in facilitating smooth functioning of the Central Government framework' and helping erstwhile state employees integrate into central government service rules.

The workshop, part of a long-running series conducted by the Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare, aims to familiarise retiring central government employees with pension procedures, retirement benefits, and post-retirement life planning.

Policy Backdrop

The administrative integration of Jammu and Kashmir into the central government framework followed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which converted the former state into two Union Territories. This transition brought the erstwhile state's employees under central government service and pension rules, creating a significant administrative realignment that required structured outreach and counselling.

Dr. Singh highlighted three specific reform instruments at the workshop. The Digital Life Certificate — implemented through the Jeevan Pramaan scheme, launched in 2014 — now uses Face Authentication Technology, allowing pensioners to submit their annual life certificates from home via a mobile phone, eliminating the need for physical bank visits. He also cited the CPENGRAMS (Centralised Pension Grievance Redress and Monitoring System), National Pension Adalats, and the ANUBHAV platform — which enables retiring employees to record their service-tenure experiences as a repository for future generations of public servants — as key pillars of the reform architecture built over the last twelve years.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of these reforms are central government pensioners in J&K and the large cohort of erstwhile state government employees absorbed into the central framework post-2019. For many of these employees, particularly in remote areas of the Union Territory, the shift to digital life certificates and online grievance mechanisms represents a substantive reduction in the compliance burden of retirement.

J&K Central Government Pensioners' Associations have played a facilitating role in this transition, according to Dr. Singh, acting as intermediaries between pensioners and the central administration during a period of significant procedural change. Pre-retirement counselling workshops serve both an administrative and a social function — the minister emphasised that the objective is not only procedural familiarity but also helping 'elder citizens prepare for a meaningful and productive post-retirement life.'

What's Next

The government is expected to continue expanding the reach of face-authentication upgrades under Jeevan Pramaan to cover more pensioners across J&K, particularly in areas with limited connectivity. The ANUBHAV platform's repository of service experiences is also likely to grow as more retiring employees from the erstwhile J&K cadre contribute to it. Parliamentary oversight of pension portability and service-rule harmonisation for UT employees remains an area to watch as the administrative integration matures.