New Delhi, May 15: Aadhaar card is not mandatory for central government employees to get their pension, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh has said. In the 30th meeting of the Standing Committee of Voluntary Agencies here recently, he said Aadhaar is an additional facility to enable the use of technology for submission of life certificate without the need for visiting banks.

His assertion assumes significance as there were reports of some retired employees facing difficulty in getting the pension in the absence of Aadhaar linkage with their bank accounts. The minister clarified that Aadhaar has not been made mandatory for getting the pension for government employees, according to the minutes of the meeting.

Aadhaar is a 12-digit number, issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), that acts as identification and address proof. There are about 48.41 lakh central government employees and 61.17 lakh pensioners. Singh cited various initiatives started by the central government for the welfare of its employees and pensioners.

"For instance, minimum pension has been increased to Rs 9,000, ceiling of gratuity has been increased to Rs 20 lakh, fixed medical allowance has been increased to Rs 1,000 per month," the minister said. "Constant attendance allowance has been increased from Rs 4,500 to Rs 6,750 with effect from July 1, 2017. Some benefits relating to income-tax e.g. standard deduction, tax-rebate etc.on interest made available in the Finance Bill, 2018," he said.