New simplified pension form for retired govt employees

Government on Friday introduced a new pension form for its retired employees which simplifies the process of sanctioning pension and doing away with the requirement for submission of affidavits.

The new 'Form 5' has been brought for the benefit of pensioners and it will record all information on the basis of self-attestation by the individual concerned, said Sanjay Kothari, Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms, Public Grievances and Pension.

"While changes have been made in a number of (other) forms, special change is being made only on Form-5," he said.

The information to be filled in by retiring government employees is restricted to their name, address and bank account details, Kothari said.

"In addition, employees' mobile number and e-mail id if available is also being collected for ease of correspondence in future.

“These steps will go a long way toward reducing inconvenience of the individual as well as making the process more transparent," he added.

The Ministry of Personnel also launched six documentary films on good governance initiatives in New Delhi on Friday.

The documentary films are based on successful initiatives to tackle the problem of adverse sex ratio

by district administration of Nawashahr, Punjab; initiative of strengthening CSR spending in Raigarh district and educational initiatives in Dantewada area, Chhattisgarh, a statement issued today by Ministry of Personnel said.

The short films on saving open space and urban lakes (SOUL) and cultural rejuvenation of the twin city of Hubali-Dharwad, Karnataka and excellence in rural management and development in the challenging physical environment of the Sikkim Himalaya and Kaushalya Vardhan Kendra (skill development) project of the Directorate of Employment & Training, Gujarat were also launched, it said.

Based on stakeholders' consultation, films have been made in three durations i.e. in 14 minutes, three-and-a-half minute and 30 second.

The 14-minute format is for class room study and discussion in the Central Training Institutes and Administrative Training Institutes; the 3½ minute film is meant for larger conferences where senior level officers participate, or if the audience is already aware of the broad contours of the schemes or for the meetings with non-officials, the statement said.

These are also meant for telecast on national network of Doordarshan or other television channels.

"The 30 second version is like a teaser to be used for advertising or to evoke interest in the audience to watch the larger version of the film," it said.