Modi Govt's Diwali Bonanza: Over 6 Crore EPFO Members To Get 8.65% Interest For Last Fiscal

Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar on Tuesday said over 6 crore EPFO members will get 8.65 per cent interest on their deposits for 2018-19. The Central Board of Trustees -- the apex decision-making body of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) -- had approved 8.65 per cent interest rate for the last fiscal in February this year. The proposal was sent for the concurrence of the finance ministry. "...ahead of the festival season, over 6 crore EPFO subscribers would get 8.65 per cent interest for 2018-19," Gangwar told reporters on the sidelines of a function in Delhi. At present, the EPFO is settling PF withdrawal claims at 8.55 per cent interest rate, which was approved for 2017-18.  

Earlier, the EPFO had said that it will launch an e-inspection system that will simplify inspection process and ensure organisations with open communications will not be subject to physical inspection until absolutely necessary, according to Central Provident Fund Commissioner Sunil Barthwal.

EPFO (Employees' Provident Fund Organisation) proposed to amend the Act to limit enquiry period to a maximum of two years in order to curtail harassment, he also said at a Confederation of Indian Industry-organised interactive session last Friday, a CII release said.

A small percentage of employees are unable to generate UAN (a 12-digit Universal Account Number to all employees entitled to EPF) due to mismatch in data, Barthwal said, adding to address this issue, the EPFO is looking at alternative authentication vis-a-vis the employee database.

"The EPFO is working towards a three-day settlement period for KYC (Know Your Customer) compliant beneficiaries who have UAN linked to Aadhaar, have a bank account and a registered mobile number," the release quoted him as saying.

Barthwal also proposed to set up a society of self-regulating consultants, similar to ICAI (The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India), in order to curb "misuse and corruption."

"In a significant announcement for industry he proposed to decriminalise defaulters and treat the cases as economic offences," the release said.

The release quoted EPFO officers as saying that the process of claim has evolved from offline filing to digital and app-based platform and the next phase of advancement will be based on big data analytical platform that utilises artificial intelligence and machine learning to trigger all activities.