Govt to bring over 45 lakh workers under EPF scheme
An estimated 45 lakh plus new workers will be brought under the ambit of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), adding to its existing kitty of four crore plus subscribers.
By ET Bureau |
NEW DELHI: An estimated 45 lakh plus new workers will be brought under the ambit of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), adding to its existing kitty of four crore plus subscribers, once the notification on Saturday���s decision of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) is issued. It also approved the proposal to bring industries with ten or more employees under the EPF umbrella against the earlier limit of 20 or more workers.
Sources said that according to the projections made by the EPF on Saturday, the significant move would mean roping in 45 lakh new workers. A panel set up earlier on the issue had projected that should the limit be set at units employing 15 or more workers, some three lakh new units would be added to the EPF kitty. This is a decision that is expected to boost the EPF���s flagging resource and corpus in the middle and longer term.
With a view to beef up its corpus and earnings, the EPFO is also considering other moves including widening the base of those eligible for provident fund from the existing four crore subscribers by doing away with the existing Rs 6,500/pm wage ceiling and aligning it with the wage ceiling criteria followed for ESI or Employees State Insurance, which now stands at Rs 10,000 pm. The move added 6.57 lakh more workers to the ESIC scheme. The EPF���s interest payout level in 03-04 and 04-05 was 9.5% but it dropped to 8.5% in 05-06 despite dipping into various savings pockets of the fund to retain rate at 9.5%.
Sources said that according to the projections made by the EPF on Saturday, the significant move would mean roping in 45 lakh new workers. A panel set up earlier on the issue had projected that should the limit be set at units employing 15 or more workers, some three lakh new units would be added to the EPF kitty. This is a decision that is expected to boost the EPF���s flagging resource and corpus in the middle and longer term.
With a view to beef up its corpus and earnings, the EPFO is also considering other moves including widening the base of those eligible for provident fund from the existing four crore subscribers by doing away with the existing Rs 6,500/pm wage ceiling and aligning it with the wage ceiling criteria followed for ESI or Employees State Insurance, which now stands at Rs 10,000 pm. The move added 6.57 lakh more workers to the ESIC scheme. The EPF���s interest payout level in 03-04 and 04-05 was 9.5% but it dropped to 8.5% in 05-06 despite dipping into various savings pockets of the fund to retain rate at 9.5%.
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