In order to include Bank of Baroda and HDFC Bank as Service Centers for the System for Pension Administration (Raksha) (SPARSH) project across more than 14,000 branches in India, the Defence Accounts Department inked an MoU with both institutions.

SPARSH is a web-based system for processing pension claims and crediting the pension to defence retirees' bank accounts without the need of a third party.

Through an online portal that records and maintains a complete history of the pensioner's events and entitlements, from the date of the pension's initiation to the date that the last eligible beneficiary's pension became due, it has been designed to provide defence pensioners with a transparent view of their pension account.

All three Services and associated organisations are served by this system, which is managed by the Defense Accounts Department through the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions), Prayagraj.

The system is currently being implemented, and it will initially serve new retirees before being expanded to include current defence pensions.

Source: PIB