The Centre has asked all its departments to appoint nodal officers, who would coordinate with the family members of a deceased government employee to assist in paperwork and facilitate expeditious disbursement of entitlements.

In a letter, Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare secretary Indevar Pandey said that details of the nodal officer may be prominently displayed on the website of ministries, departments, attached and subordinate offices. “As you are aware, quite a few government employees and officers have lost their lives in the recent surge of Covid-19 cases. In many cases, the deceased employees and officers were the sole breadwinners of the family,” he said.