E-Paper
EPFO adds 12.54 lakh new subscribers in December: Labour ministry
Nearly 53.70 lakh subscribers were added in the first three quarters of the current financial year (April-December, 2020), despite the ongoing virus pandemic, a release issued by the ministry said.
The Union labour ministry said on Saturday that a total of 12.54 lakh subscribers were added to the Employees Provident Welfare Organisation’s (EPFO) payroll data in December, 2020 which highlighted a positive trend in the growth of subscribers' base. The organisation had started releasing the payroll data since April 2018, which covered the time period from September 2017 onwards.
“The data reflects an increase of 44 % in net subscribers’ addition over the previous month of November, 2020. Year-on-year comparison of payroll data shows 24% growth for December 2020, indicating return to the pre-coronavirus disease (Covid-19) levels of subscriber growth for EPFO,” a release issued by the ministry stated.
Nearly 53.70 lakh subscribers were added in the first three quarters of the current financial year (April-December, 2020), despite the ongoing virus pandemic, the release said. With regard to net payroll addition, the third quarter (October-December), registered a robust 22% growth over the second quarter, (July-September), the payroll data showed .
The ministry partly credited the growth in the EPFO payroll numbers and the subscription base towards the recent e-initiatives taken by the EPFO for ensuring seamless and uninterrupted service delivery along with the policy support for formalising the economy through the way of several schemes of the central government such as the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY), Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) and the Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY).
The release also pointed out that in December last year, nearly 8.04 lakh new members were under the preview of the EPFO. “Roughly 4.5 lakh net members exited and then rejoined EPFO indicating switching of jobs by the subscribers within the establishments covered by EPFO and subscribers choosing to retain membership by transferring funds rather than opting for final settlement,” it said.
This increase in those rejoining showed that people were returning to their jobs amid a decline in the active coronavirus disease cases in the country. The auto transfer facility initiated by the EPFO allowed hassle-free transfer of Provident Fund balance from the old employer to the current employer.
Five states - Haryana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu - contributed the most towards employment generation across all age groups by adding 29.12 lakh net subscribers out of the 53.70 lakh during the current financial year. Meanwhile, the gender-wise analysis of payroll data for December, 2020 showed that enrolment of women was approximately 22.76%. A total of 1.83 lakh subscribers were women out of the 8.04 lakh that had joined EPF scheme in December.
