IT crash proves costly for CDNS

Fresh investments in national savings schemes have come to a complete halt due to a major breakdown in the IT system of the Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS). This breakdown has caused billions of rupees in losses to the exchequer and delayed issuance of digital prize bonds.

According to sources, the IT system of the department has been down for the past ten to fifteen days, creating severe difficulties for nearly 3.5 million account holders, including retired senior citizens and pensioners.

Officials said efforts are under way to restore the system, which has only been partially revived so far, leaving customers still facing problems.

Payments to account holders are being made, but normal operations remain disrupted.

Sources revealed that due to the crash, ATM cards are malfunctioning, the mobile app for online transactions is not working properly, and biometric verification has been suspended.

As a result, no new accounts can be opened; no deposits can be made and no savings schemes or certificates are being purchased. This stoppage has led to significant losses for the government.

Sources added that the department had finalized preparations for the issuance of digital prize bonds in denominations of Rs5,000, Rs10,000, Rs25,000, and Rs40,000. However, the launch has been delayed due to the IT system failure.

CDNS officials assured that expert teams are working to fully restore the system. They expressed hope that the system would be back in operation soon.