Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya Chairs 239th meeting of Central Board of Trustees (CBT), EPF
Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya Chairs 239th meeting of Central Board of Trustees (CBT), EPF
Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya chaired the 239th meeting of Central Board of Trustees (CBT), Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) in New Delhi today. The Vice-Chairman Sushri Shobha Karandlaje, Minister of State for Labour & Employment and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Co-Vice-Chairperson Ms. Vandana Gurnani, Secretary, Labour & Employment and Member Secretary Shri Ramesh Krishnamurthi, Central Provident Fund Commissioner were also present during the meeting.
After due deliberations, CBT recommended 8.25 % annual rate of interest to be credited on EPF accumulations in members’ accounts for the financial year 2025-26. The interest rate would be officially notified by the Government of India, following which EPFO would credit the rate of interest into the subscribers’ account.
Despite global uncertainties, EPFO has maintained strong financial discipline, ensuring stable and competitive returns without straining the interest account. The decision benefits crores of workers by strengthening their retirement security, while reaffirming EPFO’s commitment to safeguarding contributions and delivering prudent, sustainable, and attractive returns compared to other similar investment avenues.
EPFO has been able to declare an interest rate of above 8% for the past several years owing to good returns given by ETF and other investments. The decision reflects the strong credit profile of EPFO’s investment portfolio and its sustained ability to deliver competitive returns to its members.
Further, continuing the reforms in EPFO, under the chairmanship of Dr. Mandaviya, following agenda items were placed before the Board for discussion & approval:-
This landmark decision paves the way for a smooth and legally robust transition from the existing framework to the new Code-based regime. The approval removes transitional constraints that had temporarily limited amendments to the earlier schemes and enables operationalization of key reforms previously cleared by the CBT. These include the introduction of an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR/VISHWAS) mechanism, member-friendly reforms in advances and withdrawals and important administrative simplifications aimed at improving ease of compliance, ease of living and service delivery. This milestone marks a significant step toward modernizing India’s social security architecture and strengthening service delivery to crores of workers and establishments nationwide.
During FY 2024–25, EPFO registered robust operational and financial performance. Total contributions amounted to ₹3,35,628.81 crore, with 2,86,894 new establishments brought under coverage and 1,22,89,244 new members enrolled. The Organisation served 81,48,490 pensioners and settled 6,01,59,608 claims, including 69,983 EDLI claims. A total of 17,33,046 grievances were redressed and 39,74,501 calls were attended to during the year. The rate of interest on EPF deposits for FY 2024–25 has been declared at 8.25%.
Further, the Board was informed that during FY 2024 – 25, EPFO implemented several key reforms including pan-India rollout of the Centralised Pension Payment System (CPPS) and introduction of Digital Life Certificate submission through Facial Authentication Technology (FAT). The Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995 was amended to allow withdrawal benefits for even one month of contribution, and EDLI benefits were enhanced with assurance ranging from ₹2.5 lakh to ₹7 lakh for members in continuous period of employment for 12 months. A uniform penal damages rate of 1% per month was notified to simplify compliance effective from 14.06.2024. EPFO also received seven ISSA Good Practice Awards (Asia & Pacific, 2024). Additionally, multiple IT-enabled citizen-centric measures were introduced to simplify claims, ensure delinking of Erroneous/Fraudulent UAN linkages, facilitate online transfers and corrections, online system for surrender of exemption and transfer of past accumulations and submit joint declarations where member does not have Universal Account Number (UAN) based login.
This initiative will facilitate faster credit of long-pending balances to members, reduce procedural delays, improve data accuracy, and further enhance ease of access and service delivery for EPFO members.
This will enable prompt investment decisions in line with prevailing market conditions, thereby minimising risks arising from delays, while ensuring that all actions are taken strictly in accordance with laid down policy and governance norms to protect members’ long-term interests.
The SOP introduces a structured framework for Equity ETF investments with clearly defined entry and exit protocols, exposure limits, compliance controls and enhanced oversight through the Investment Monitoring Cell (IMC). It also strengthens liquidity management through regulated deployment in Liquid Mutual Funds with defined holding norms and continuous monitoring.
The framework institutionalises enhanced governance through a defined approval matrix, strict adherence to Government-notified investment norms, periodic reporting to the Central Board and multi-layered audit oversight. These reforms aim to optimise returns within prudent risk parameters, strengthen liquidity planning and safeguard the long-term interests of crores of EPF members.
Further, the Board was informed about the progress in social security expansion, digital transformation and service delivery made by EPFO, as under:
