EPFO 3.0 rollout a year away; gig worker benefits may be delayed

EPFO 3.0 may take another year to roll out after tendering is completed, potentially delaying social-security benefits for gig, platform, unorganised and construction workers.

The roll out of Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) 3.0 could take another year after completing its tendering process, potentially delaying social-security schemes for gig, platform, unorganised, and construction workers, according to people aware of the matter.

 The request for proposal (RFP) to select the technology partner is still being prepared, a person aware of the matter said. Implementation is expected to take around a year after the tender process is completed.

 The delay could push the project beyond the timeline set by the Central Board of Trustees, which approved the EPFO 3.0 framework in October 2025 and sought implementation within a year. EPFO had earlier planned to complete the design and tendering process by October last year, according to the minutes of its 113th Executive Committee meeting held in March this year.

 Email queries sent to the labour ministry and EPFO remained unanswered until press time.

 EPFO 3.0 is being developed to overhaul the provident fund body’s IT infrastructure through a core banking solution for member accounts and ledgers, alongside cloud-native, API-first and microservices-based systems. Business Standard had previously reported that the labour ministry was developing a gig-worker insurance scheme and a universal pension scheme under the proposed framework.

 The delay has raised concerns about whether workers will have to wait for the new platform before accessing social-security benefits.

 Nitesh Kumar Das, organising secretary of Gig Workers Association (GigWA), said delays to EPFO 3.0 should not hold up benefits for gig and platform workers.

 “For millions of gig and platform workers, social security is not something they can wait for — it is an immediate need. Every delay means workers continue to face the risks of accidents, illness, loss of income and old age without adequate protection. We understand that building a new digital platform takes time, but workers’ access to social security should not depend on when a technology system is ready,” he said.

 Das said the government should consider transitional arrangements if the platform takes longer to roll out, allowing workers to access essential benefits before the technology system is complete. “Technology should make social security easier to deliver, not become a reason to postpone workers’ rights,” he said.

 Rishi Agrawal, cofounder and chief executive officer of TeamLease RegTech, said implementing social-security provisions for gig workers would require clarity on how contributions would be calculated, deposited, accounted for and disbursed.

 With the government estimating that India has more than 10 million gig workers, Agrawal said a robust digital system would be needed to manage contributions and benefits at scale. “Digitisation is core, so building a robust digital infrastructure will be essential. Unless we invest heavily and thoughtfully, these proposed changes will remain figments of our imagination,” he said.

 Agrawal said EPFO 3.0 would address only part of the challenge, as gig workers are paid on a transactional basis rather than through fixed monthly payouts like salaried employees. “The traditional model of PF does not fit gig workers since these workers get paid on a transactional basis and not in fixed, monthly payouts like salaried employees. All these details need to be worked out,” he said.