EPF rate cut: Govt to wait for panel’s recommendation

NEW DELHI: On Thursday, junior labour minister Vijay Goel told the Rajya Sabha, in reply to a question, that the government has no plan to cut the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) rate.
The assurance pre-empts the finance & investment committee of the EPFO’s board of trustees from taking any decision on the issue.
The panel is scheduled to make public its recommendations on a possible interest rate cut, as well as the hiring of financial consultants to look into future investment possibilities, by end-April.
It is only after the government receives this recommendation on a rate cut that the government would have a proposal.
The committee is also slated to submit its recommendations on the investment pattern for funds notified by the finance ministry recently, amending the earlier pattern.
But just how sensitive any final decision on interest rate cut for EPF would be was indicated even at the inception of the panel, with representatives of the AITUC and the CITU both opting out. Nor would an interest rate cut go down well with workers, notwithstanding how much a tight rope the government will have to walk on the issue.