In his address after more than 75,000 people were given appointment letters for various government jobs in the first tranche, Modi acknowledged the challenges facing the economy the world over with many countries hit by a record inflation and unemployment and said India is making every effort to come out of the situation unscathed.
Over 4.7 crore (47 million) employees are likely to get an interest of 8.5 per cent in 2010-11 on their provident fund deposits of about Rs 2.5 lakh crore (Rs 2.5 trillion), a return authorities have been giving for the past five years.
'It is imprudent on the part of Indian insurance companies to invest out of the shareholders' fund in a private limited company.'
Under its new chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has gravitated towards greater transparency and ease of doing business, setting an objective of "effective and optimum" regulation. On Monday, during its first board meeting under Pandey, the regulator has decided to constitute a high-level committee (HLC) to review conflicts of interest and unveiled initiatives to simplify regulatory processes.
In view of allegations by trade unions that Employees Provident Fund Organisation was "fraught with corruption", the Labour Minstry has convened a Parliamentary Consultative Committee meeting on December 14 to discuss the functioning of the EPFO.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says a higher interest rate on Employees Provident Fund would depend on whether the Employees Provident Fund Organisation could afford a higher payout.
The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation on Wednesday categorically ruled out differential rates for its 3 crore subscribers.
The Employees Provident Fund Organisation had paid 9.5 per cent interest in 2010-11, before scaling it down to 8.25 per cent in 2011-12 fiscal.
EPFO manages a corpus of about Rs 257,000 crore with subscribers' base of over 4.5 crore.
In a bid to earn higher return for its 40 million subscribers, the country's biggest provident fund EPFO is exploring the possibility of investing a small portion of its assets in equities.
Following the footsteps of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, the Employees Provident Fund Organisation has entrusted the UTI Investor Services with the job of creating the required infrastructure for issuing its much-bragged social security number.
Gross enrolments of new subscribers with ESIC were 1.49 crore during the entire financial year 2018-19, the National Statistical Office (NSO) said in a report.
The National Social Security Number will be issued to the 4 crore (40 million) members covered by the scheme on the lines of the Permanent Account Number (PAN) given by the income tax department.
BJP president JP Nadda said on Sunday that the party does not seek to control the Waqf Board but wants to ensure that those managing it operate within the bounds of law and adhere to established rules. He said the properties and funds of the Waqf Board should be dedicated to promoting education, providing healthcare and employment opportunities for the Muslim community. Nadda also highlighted the BJP's growth and achievements, emphasizing its commitment to national unity and cultural heritage.
Despite the labour ministry's claims that it is vigourosly chasing the employees provident fund defaulters, the money that employers owed to the fund mounted to Rs 1,758 crore till July, but EPFO might be able to realise only Rs 571 crore.
Retirement fund body EPFO added 16.26 lakh subscribers on a net basis in November 2022, which is 16.5 per cent higher compared to a year ago, the labour ministry said on Friday. The provisional payroll data of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) released on Friday by the ministry highlighted that the EPFO has added 16.26 lakh net members in the month of November 2022. The data indicate a 25.67 per cent increase in net additions compared to the previous month in October 2022, a labour ministry statement said.
Since the imposition of lockdown on March 25 by the government to contain the COVID-19 spread, businesses have been facing liquidity or cash crunch, leading to difficulties in paying their mandatory provident fund dues.
A decision on the interest rate for close to 60 million active subscribers of the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is likely to be taken in the next Central Board of Trustee (CBT) meeting, starting on March 25. A letter from the social security organisation regarding the convening of the 233rd CBT meeting was sent to all the board members last week, soliciting their presence in the meeting. Although the venue and the agenda haven't been drawn out yet, sources familiar with the matter say that the interest rate is unlikely to go below 8 per cent level amid a rising interest rate scenario across the globe.
Amidst reports of a cut in interest rate on Employees Provident Fund, Labour Minister Sis Ram Ola on Thursday said he will meet Finance Minister P Chidambaram to decide on the returns for the over 32 million subscribers for this year.
Last month, the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation had brought down the rate of interest to 8.25 per cent for 2011-12 from 9.5 per cent provided in 2010-11, evoking sharp criticism within and outside Parliament.
PFRDA will invite bids to appoint pension fund managers.
The Union Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma said on Friday that he would soon make public the names and other details of the major provident fund defaulters.
'Parents are forced to provide their children to Russian re-education camps in occupied territories and in different parts of Russia, for example, in Chechnya, where Ukrainian children wearing military uniform are taught to use weapons.'
"It is felt there should be an arm's-length distance between the fund manager and the custodian of securities. There should be separation between fund manager, banker and the custodian," a senior labour ministry official said.
Over 10 lakh workers who quit or lost jobs so far this fiscal got a major relief on Monday with the government taking a decision to pay 8.5 per cent interest on employees provident fund.
A parliamentary committee has suggested 'consent of the recipient' was a must in case a National Akademi decided to confer an award to prevent the honour's return by the individual for political reasons as it was 'disgraceful' to the country.
Six firms have qualified for managing EPFO funds.
The move comes after United States President Donald Trump accused Islamabad of giving nothing to the US but "lies and deceit" and providing "safe haven" to terrorists.
Employees Provident Fund Organisation is likely to issue permanent account numbers to employees.
India's urban unemployment rate declined in Q4FY23 to 6.8 per cent - the lowest in over four years -- after it stagnated at 7.2 per cent in the previous October-December quarter, reflecting improvement in the labour market, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Monday. The unemployment rate in current weekly status (CWS) terms for all ages in the March quarter was the lowest recorded in more than four years, from the time the NSO released India's first quarterly urban jobless rate for the December quarter in 2018. The jobless rate in urban areas had been on a continuous decline since the peak of 20.8 per cent in the April-June quarter of FY21.
While reasonable safeguards should be built in, there can't be restrictions on the individual's right to leave her/his money to whoever s/he wants, notes Harsh Roongta.
At present, organised sector workers covered under social security schemes run by EPFO are exempted from contribution towards schemes.
While the country's unemployment rate is falling, the quality of employment seems to have taken a hit. The pace of formalisation slowed in the five months of the current financial year (April-August) with more than half a million fewer formal jobs created in the period compared to the same period last year, according to data from the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). The payroll data showed that cumulatively 4.92 million new subscribers joined the social security organisation between April-August this year, compared to 5.51 million subscribers in the same period in the previous year, reflecting a 10.7 per cent decline in the number of new payrolls created.
The government on Thursday ruled out any cut in interest rates on Employees' Provident Fund this fiscal from the present 9.5 per cent, but said it would be reviewed only next fiscal based on the surplus position, Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma
Law enforcement officials from the US Department of Homeland Security have started visiting gurdwaras in New York and New Jersey to check for the presence of illegal immigrants, drawing a sharp reaction from some Sikh organisations which see such actions as a threat to the sanctity of their faith. The Trump administration has rescinded the Biden administration's guidelines that protected places of worship from immigration enforcement actions, leading to concerns that gurdwaras are being targeted. Sikh organisations argue that gurdwaras are not just places of worship but also vital community centres and that surveillance and raids by armed law enforcement would burden religious exercise and limit the ability of Sikhs to gather and associate with one another.
In the jobs created in 2022, the share of those in the age group 18-25 increased to at least a five-year high of 56 per cent. A Business Standard analysis of the monthly Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) payroll data shows in 2018 the share of youths among the new EPFO subscribers was 50.9 per cent. The National Statistical Office is releasing the monthly EPFO payroll data since April 2018 as part of the government's effort to track formal-sector employment by using payrolls as an instrument.
