Context
Union Minister for Labour & Employment, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, recently inaugurated the 70th Foundation Day of EPFO.
About Employees’ Provident Funds (EPF) scheme
- EPF is a mandatory savings scheme under the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.
- It is managed under the aegis of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).
- It is tasked to assist the Central Board of Trustees in implementing the following three schemes for the workforce engaged in the organized sector in India:
- EPF Scheme 1952
- Pension scheme 1995 (EPS)
- Insurance scheme (EDLI)
- It is also the nodal agency for implementing Bilateral Social Security Agreements with other countries on a reciprocal basis.
- In 2014, the union government launched Universal Account Number (UAN) for Employees covered by EPFO to enable PF number portability.
- It covers every establishment in which 20 or more persons are employed (and certain other establishments which may be notified by the Central Government even if they employ less than 20 persons each).
- The employee has to pay a certain contribution towards the provident fund and the same amount is paid by the employer on a monthly basis.
- At the end of retirement or during the service (under some circumstances), the employee gets the lump sum amount including the interest on PF contributed which gets accrued
- The Central Board of Trustee, which is a key decision making body for EPFO, takes a call on the interest rates that have to be provided on the provident fund deposits, every year.
- Once CBT decides an interest rate on EPF deposits for a fiscal year, it is sent to the Ministry of Finance for concurrence.
- EPFO provides a rate of interest only after it is ratified by the government through the finance ministry.
- In 2021, the interest rates on deposits were set at 8.5% and the rates for the current financial year will depend on the income projections for the year.
Other significant developments
- An exhibition named “EPFO @70 – The journey “, displaying the 70 years of EPFO history was inaugurated.
- The document EPFO Vision @ 2047 and a booklet on the Chintan Shivir organized to lay out the roadmap for EPFO for the next 25 years were also launched.
