EPFO

From services trade trends and POSH gaps in IT firms to rupee volatility, labour reforms, and Arctic geopolitics, here are the key insights from today's Business Standard Opinion page

The EPFO and ESI have resisted radical reinvention since 1991, illustrating how self-interested bureaucracies preserve their own interests by creating improbable scenarios of chaos

Court's order means the social security body must independently verify retirement claims using all available evidence rather than penalising workers for their firms' administrative failures

Body signs MoU with IBPS for recruitment exams as NTA exits; plans annual hiring cycle to address staffing gaps and streamline processes

EPFO to enable UPI-based PF withdrawals by May-end under CITES 2.0 upgrade, promising faster access but requiring a brief system shutdown during migration

Employees' Provident Fund Organisation plans an exit policy as exposure to downgraded corporate debt rises, aiming to streamline decisions on selling stressed securities

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation has recommended an 8.25% interest rate on EPF deposits for FY2025-26. This is the third straight year at the same level.

Supreme Court issues notice on plea challenging EPF Scheme provisions requiring foreign nationals working in India to contribute to provident fund

Employees' Provident Fund Organisation finance panel seeks roadmap to clear suspense account balances by March 31 amid concerns over rising unclassified funds

This is the second year in a row that the EPF interest rate has been kept unchanged at 8.25%

In February last year, the retirement fund body retained the 8.25 per cent rate of interest for FY2024-25

EPFO's Exempted Establishment Committee has approved a consolidated SOP to streamline regulation of exempted establishments, replacing annual audits with risk-based reviews; CBT will review it next

Pilot to cover 7.11 lakh inoperative EPFO accounts with ₹1,000 or less; funds to be auto-credited to Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts without fresh claims

Move restores pre-2014 higher pension route, but only for employees who had opted earlier with employer

EPFO is also expanding data integration with state governments to widen compliance checks. Its payroll data is regularly shared with the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan

Panel seeks report in three months amid push on labour codes, eshram and social security coverage

Retirement fund body EPFO is preparing to empanel new partner agencies and appoint a fresh custodian, as it revamps investment, audit and management arrangements

Subscribers of retirement fund body EPFO will be able to withdraw their employees' provident fund (EPF) directly into their bank accounts through UPI payment gateway using its newly designed mobile application to be launched in April this year, a top source said. The labour ministry is working on a project where a certain proportion of the EPF will be frozen, and a large chunk will be available for withdrawal through their bank account using Unified Payment Interface (UPI), the source told PTI. The source further informed that the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation will roll out a new mobile phone application through which the member would be able to withdraw their EPF money using UPI gateway as well as avail other services like passbook balance. Currently, the member uses either the Universal Account Number (UAN) portal or the UMANG app to access their EPF accounts and avail of their services. The source said that these services will remain available on both platforms, while t

The labour ministry will shortly decide on raising EPFO and ESIC wage ceilings, fixing a national floor wage and increasing the minimum pension under EPS, as it targets wider social security coverage

The retirement fund manager currently invests upto 15% of its inflows into Sensex, Nifty ETFs; railways, defence stocks also on the radar