Policy Update
Gowri Kodali
Introduction
A provident fund constitutes deferred wages and forms the basis of long-term financial security for employees. Likewise, the value of a pension is realized only when it is both approved and disbursed promptly to recipients.
The digital transformation of the Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation (CMPFO) is therefore critical. Established under the Coal Mines Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act of 1948, CMPFO administers provident fund and pension schemes for coal sector workers, currently serving approximately 330,000 provident fund subscribers and 630,000 pensioners.
On 3 June 2025, C-CARES Version 2.0, developed and designed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), was launched by the Union Minister of Coal and Mines for CMPFO under the Ministry of Coal. This initiative aims to integrate coal workers, coal companies, and CMPFO onto a unified digital platform to streamline provident fund and pension administration.
This reform marks a significant shift from basic record digitisation to the transformation of social security benefit delivery. Its effectiveness should be assessed by evaluating whether technology meaningfully reduces the gap between workers and their entitled benefits.
Background:
The digital transformation of CMPFO began prior to the introduction of C-CARES 2.0.
The initial C-CARES portal, launched on 31 January 2024, addressed longstanding challenges in digitising CMPFO’s records and operational procedures. Developed by C-DAC, it enabled online settlement of provident fund and pension claims.
C-CARES 2.0 represents the subsequent phase of this digital transition.
CMPFO faces inherently multi-institutional administrative challenges. Settlement of provident fund and pension matters relies on employment details and contributions from coal companies, which are processed by CMPFO and ultimately disbursed to workers or pensioners. Delays or discrepancies at any stage adversely affect beneficiaries.
Version 2.0 connects these stages through a unified digital architecture, moving beyond the mere conversion of paper files into electronic records.
This distinction is critical. Automation alone does not necessarily simplify bureaucratic processes. Digital governance generates public value only when it results in faster, more transparent, and more accessible services for beneficiaries.
Functioning
C-CARES 2.0 encompasses financial processing, member services, and administrative monitoring.
The financial component enables direct crediting of provident fund and pension payments to beneficiaries’ accounts. The Direct Benefit Transfer module, developed by C-DAC in collaboration with the State Bank of India, also ensures automatic updates of members’ provident fund and pension records based on data from coal companies.
The mobile application allows beneficiaries to access personal and employment profiles, view current provident fund balances, track claims, and submit grievances. Members may also obtain information through a chatbot.
C-CARES consolidates information regarding a member’s family, employment, ledger, and claims within a single system accessible to authorized users. Upon settlement of a pension claim, the Pension Payment Order (PPO) is automatically stored in DigiLocker for digital retrieval by the pensioner.
The system offers administrators and coal companies an analytics and decision-support dashboard that generates customized reports and analyzes trends in provident fund and pension claim settlements. These statistics are intended to inform process improvements and accelerate service delivery.
The system architecture can thus be conceptualized as a sequential chain:
The chain follows a sequential workflow: Employer Data Feed → Automated CMPFO Ledger → Online Claim Submission → Administrative Verification → DigiLocker PPO Integration → Direct DBT Disbursement.
Effectiveness is determined not solely by the speed of final payment, but also by the accuracy and accessibility of each preceding stage in the process.
Performance
C-CARES 2.0 was first introduced in five of CMPFO’s regional offices—Godavarikhani, Kothagudem, Asansol-I, Bilaspur and Nagpur—encompassing operations relating to SCCL, ECL, SECL and WCL; when it was launched, the Ministry said that it would be expanded to the other regional offices from 1 July 2025.
The most notable improvement has occurred in the disbursement of provident fund payments.
The Ministry of Coal’s Annual Report 2025–26 states that after introducing the C-CARES 2.0 Financial Module, PF dues can now be credited to members’ accounts on the same day, compared with the previous average of 7 days. The Ministry of Coal on 20 August 2025 also stated that there had been continuous improvements in PF and pension claim settlements as a result of C-CARES. It affirmed the possibility of having PF and PF Advance claims credited directly online, the ability to track claims via mobile, the automatic storage of PPOs in DigiLocker, and the provision of member information through a single window.
C-CARES has also been complemented by institutional reforms outside the portal.
In 2025, CMPFO launched Mission PRAYAAS – Prompt Resolution for Assured Access to Social Security – aiming to eliminate pending pension settlement cases and provide doorstep services for provident fund and pension settlements in collieries. Coordinators were appointed at regional offices to resolve pending cases. A hotline was introduced on 18 July 2025 to handle complaints about delays, pending claims, PPOs, pension revisions, and allegations of corruption or bribery.
However, an important analytical distinction must be maintained:
A key distinction remains: same-day disbursement via the SBI DBT module applies only to the post-sanction payment stage; end-to-end claim settlement still depends on upstream verification and employer data accuracy.
A claim may still require record verification, correction of discrepancies, and administrative approval before payment. Future reports should separately calculate the time from submission to approval and from approval to payment.
Impact
The primary advantage of C-CARES 2.0 lies in its reduction of transaction costs.
Coal miners and pensioners are dispersed across mining regions, and each unnecessary visit to an administrative office incurs travel expenses, lost work time, and dependence on intermediaries. Remote claim tracking and digital record access can mitigate these challenges.
An even more significant reform is the enhancement of traceability within the system.
In a traditional administrative system, a beneficiary knows a claim is delayed but not where. A well-designed digital workflow can show if the bottleneck is employer data, verification, approvals, or payment, thereby improving process transparency.
The C-CARES dashboard enables data-driven administration. If a regional office consistently shows higher pendency or longer processing times than similar offices, CMPFO can spot the pattern before complaints accumulate.
C-CARES should advance from a record-management system to one that provides early warnings of administrative failure.
Emerging Issues
Data Quality at Entry: C-CARES cannot resolve legacy errors in employment, nominee, or contribution details; processing unverified coal company records faster only accelerates erroneous outcomes.
Contract Worker Coverage: While contract workers are statutorily covered, principal employers must ensure timely remittances. Automated monitoring is essential to detect non-remittance before superannuation.
Digital Access Divide: With over 6.3 lakh pensioners, many lack digital literacy or smartphone access. Assisted mechanisms like Mission PRAYAAS colliery camps must complement online tools.
Settlement vs. Payment Speed: Same-day banking disbursement risks masking prolonged upstream verification delays. Metrics must reflect total time from submission to approval.
Cybersecurity & Redressal: Centralising sensitive worker data requires continuous security auditing. Furthermore, grievance redressal on hotlines should be judged by median resolution time, not just closed ticket counts.
Way Forward
CMPFO should first introduce a Claim Lifecycle Dashboard. Instead of only showing settled claims, it should publish regional data on claims received, median end-to-end settlement time, cases pending beyond prescribed timeframes, resolved grievances, and case pendency by age. This would enable regional performance comparison and help identify bottlenecks.
Second, C-CARES should establish a right-to-correction procedure. Members should be able to view key employment and contribution details, identify discrepancies, and monitor corrections within a time-limited process. A digital record must never be considered final just because it is digital.
Third, C-CARES should adopt a hybrid model benchmarked against Singapore’s Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board. Singapore combines digital channels with multi-language helplines and physical service centers for those who cannot navigate online portals. Given the varied digital literacy across India’s mining belts, CMPFO’s Mission PRAYAAS should permanently integrate colliery-level assisted kiosks alongside digital portals.
Fourth, drawing further from Singapore’s CPF user interface, C-CARES should offer members a single, consolidated timeline showing lifetime contributions, interest accruals, active claims, and grievance statuses in one secure view.
Fifth, the dashboard should evolve toward predictive governance. Regional offices with abnormal pendency, repeated complaints, unusual contribution gaps, or delayed employer submissions should automatically trigger administrative review.
Sixth, digital records should improve supervision of employer compliance, especially for contract workers. The system’s long-term value should go beyond speeding claim payments to identifying missing or irregular contributions before workers reach the claim stage.
In the end, periodic independent evaluations should assess beneficiary experience, cybersecurity resilience, data accuracy and regional disparities. Although a portal may be technically functional, it can still entail considerable costs for the person using it.
The central principle for evaluating performance should therefore be:
Rather than measuring the volume of social security benefits available online, the assessment should focus on reducing the effort required of workers to access these benefits.
Conclusion
C-CARES 2.0 shifts CMPFO from basic record digitisation to an active social security delivery platform. While same-day DBT disbursement demonstrates clear procedural progress, lasting impact depends on underlying data accuracy, proactive compliance for contract labor, and accessible in-person assistance for elderly pensioners. Digital governance succeeds not merely by moving entitlements online, but by minimizing the administrative burden on the coal workers who earned them.
References
Central Provident Fund Board. (2024). What is “my cpf digital services”? Government of Singapore.
https://www.cpf.gov.sg/service/article/what-is-my-cpf-digital-services
Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation. (2024). Frequently asked questions and information on the CMPF scheme. Ministry of Coal, Government of India.
https://www.cmpfo.gov.in/FAQ.html
Lok Sabha. (2025, August 20). Efficiency of C-CARES 2.0 portal (Unstarred Question No. 4439). Parliament of India.
https://sansad.in/getFile/loksabhaquestions/annex/185/AU4439_HpmRdr.pdf?source=pqals
Ministry of Coal. (2026). Annual report 2025–26. Government of India.
https://coal.nic.in/public-information/reports/annual-reports/annual-report-2025-26
Ministry of Manpower. (2025, February 4). Measures by CPF Board to offer non-digital access. Government of Singapore.
Press Information Bureau. (2024, February 1). Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Pralhad Joshi launches C-CARES, web portal of CMPFO [Press release]. Ministry of Coal, Government of India.
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2001048
Press Information Bureau. (2025a, June 3). Union Minister of Coal & Mines, Shri G. Kishan Reddy launches C CARES Version 2.0 of CMPFO [Press release]. Ministry of Coal, Government of India.
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2133594
Press Information Bureau. (2025b, December 29). Ministry of Coal – Year end review 2025 [Press release]. Ministry of Coal, Government of India.
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2213723
About the Author
Gowri Kodali is currently doing a Master’s degree in Economics and serves as a Research and Editorial Intern at the Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI). She is at the same time preparing for the UPSC Civil Services Examination, having a particular interest in public policy, governance and socio-economic development.
Reviewers:
Sneha Kohli and Pragya Raghav
Disclaimer
All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the organisation.
Read more at IMPRI:
The India International Bullion Exchange (2022): A New Gateway for Gold Trading
