New Delhi34 minutes ago
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Union Labor and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday announced major changes in the functioning of the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). Now all the EPFO offices in the country will be converted into ‘single-window service centers’ on the lines of Passport Seva Kendras.
Its biggest advantage will be that PF account holders will be able to get their problems resolved by going to any regional office in the country. Now they will not have to visit that particular office where their PF account is registered.
Pilot project started in Delhi, now office restrictions will end
During the inauguration of EPFO’s new ‘Bhavishya Nidhi Bhawan’ in Vatva, Gujarat, Minister Mandaviya said that the trial of this new system has started in Delhi. Earlier the rule was that the employee had to go to the same regional office to which his organization was attached for his complaints or claims.
Now with the help of modern technology, it is being made completely digital and connected, so that a person from any city can go to the nearest EPFO office and get his work done.
‘EPF Facility Provider’ will help the workers
The government will soon launch a new mechanism of ‘EPF Facility Provider’. These will be authorized facilitators, who will help those employees who face difficulty in operating the digital system or who are joining PF for the first time. These facility providers will act as a bridge between citizens and EPFO and guide them in settlement of claims.
Union Labor and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya
Mission mode KYC will run for inoperative accounts
The money of lakhs of employees of the country is stuck in such EPF accounts which have been closed or non-operative for years. The minister said that EPFO will now do KYC verification for these accounts in ‘mission mode’.
A dedicated digital platform will be launched for this. With this, those account holders or their heirs can be identified and the rightful money can be returned to them safely.
PF money will not be lost even after returning from abroad
India is now also including social security clauses in its free trade agreements (FTAs). Mandaviya said that like the India-UK agreement, now there will be a provision in the deals with other countries that if an Indian employee returns after working abroad, his PF contribution deposited there will not go waste. He will be able to avail of his deposits and other facilities even after returning to India.
28 lakh crore fund and government guarantee
Citing the strength of EPFO, the minister said that currently the organization has a fund corpus of Rs 28 lakh crore and it is paying annual interest at the rate of 8.25%. He assured that the money deposited in EPFO is completely safe because the guarantee of the Government of India is attached to it.
Target of social security to 100 crore people by 2026
Mandaviya told through statistics that before 2014, only 19% of the population in India used to get social security cover, which has now increased to 64%. He said, “Today 94 crore people of the country are under the ambit of social security in some form or the other. India is the second largest country in the world after China. Our target is to cover 100 crore citizens of the country under it by March 2026.”
What will change for you?
|
Facility |
what was before |
What will happen now |
|
office access |
Had to go only to home branch/office. |
Work will be done in any EPFO office of the country. |
|
source of help |
Had to rely on myself or a broker. |
Authorized ‘EPF Facility Provider’ will guide. |
|
foreign job |
PF deducted abroad often remained there. |
Money will also be available on return to India through agreements. |
|
old accounts |
Due to lack of KYC, money used to get stuck. |
Instant KYC and claim settlement through digital platform. |
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