NEW DELHI: Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also In-Charge Department of Pensions, said today that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Department of Pensions & Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) is trying to enable the pensioners and elder citizens “Atma Nirbhar” through innovative initiatives like promoting Digital Life Certificate for pensioners which can be submitted from the comfort of one’s home.Earlier, due to difficulties faced by pensioners in submitting the Life Certificate because of Covid-19 pandemic, the Government relaxed the existing timeline for submission of Life Certificate from 1st November 2020 to 31st December 2020, he said.Addressing an interactive session with “Brahma Kumari” Sister Shivani on “Power of Thoughts and Meditation in Covid-19 pandemic” organized by DoPPW here today, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the Pensioners as senior citizens being a vulnerable group in the wake of the Covid 19 pandemic, need a helping hand and compassionate care in addition to medical care and such programmes will help them to tackle their mental stress level thus strengthening their immunity status and protecting them from physical illness as well.While appreciating the immitable style of Sister Shivani in making her point, the Minister said that senior citizens always have a lot to offer to the society and their valuable experiences can bring changes to the society.Endorsing the thoughts on building positivity in life given by Sister Shivani, the Minister said that lifestyle modifications help in a host of modern-day diseases like Diabetes Mellitus and also against Covid-19 Pandemic . He said that though the average life span has increased in India in recent years, one needs to add life to the years.Earlier addressing the programme, Sister Shivani called for keeping oneself energized with positive thoughts in this period of Covid-19 pandemic and make others energized like a well lit “Diya” giving energy to the other “Diyas”.Kshatrapati Shivaji, Secretary ARPG , Sanjiv Narain Mathur, J S (Pension) and other senior officers of the Ministry also attended the online interactive session.This programme was aimed to sensitize senior pensioners on mental wellbeing during Corona pandemic . The DoPPW has been taking extra efforts for organizing programs for addressing pensioners’ health issues including providing counseling for Covid 19, yoga sessions for enhancing immunity and overall health, through video-conferencing connecting large number of pensioners across India with the help of Pensioners Associations.
