The Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPT) issued comprehensive 8-step reforms to ensure timely payment of retirement dues and issuance of Pension Payment Orders (PPOs) for central civil employees, including those from All India Services like IAS, IPS, and IFoS. Key measures include digitisation of service records, universalisation of the Bhavishya portal, clarifications on pre-retirement vigilance clearance, formation of inter-ministerial oversight committees, auto-flagging of delays, capacity-building via i-GOT Karmayogi portal, and deputation of “Pension Mitras/Welfare Officers” in ministries. This is expected to streamline retirements in southern states, where cadre shortages (e.g., Odisha’s 30% vacancy rate) often delay transitions.