Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare is committed towards the welfare of Central Government pensioners. It actively coordinates with other Ministries/Departments of Government of India for formulation of pension policies and redressal of pensioners’ grievances to ensure dignity and ease of living for Central Government pensioners.  Further, the Department also actively engages with the Pensioners’ Welfare Associations, representing lakhs of Central Government pensioners across the country for participative consultation in recommending welfare measures for pensioners.

To institutionalize the coordination among DoPPW, Ministries/Departments and Pensioners’ Welfare Associations, the Standing Committee of Voluntary Agencies (SCOVA) was constituted by Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare in 1986 under the chairmanship of Minister of State for Personnel Public Grievances and Pensions with Secretary, Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare as Secretary.

The SCOVA consists of 15 non-official members, representing Pensioners’ Welfare Associations and Official Members represented by Ministries/ Departments of Government of India. It provides Pensioners’ Welfare Associations, an institutional forum for raising issues concerning pensioners’ welfare directly before the concerned Ministries/ Departments through constructive deliberations.

Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions will chair the 35th meeting of the Standing Committee of Voluntary Agencies at New Delhi on 10th March, 2026.

In the 35th SCOVA meeting, Pensioners’ Welfare Associations from Delhi, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, Assam, Jharkhand, Uttrakhand,  Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Gujarat would be participating. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Controller General of Defence Accounts, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Railways, Controller General of Communication Accounts, Department of Financial Services, Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare, Department of Revenue and Department of Telecommunications will also be participating in the meeting to discuss the issues concerning pensioners.

It is expected that upcoming SCOVA meeting will be instrumental in bringing the ‘ease in the life’ of the central government pensioners.

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SR/KL

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