The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is in an advanced stage of preparations to upgrade its IT system, which could be launched in the October-December quarter of this year, reports have said. The new system will pave the way for smooth user experience, Union labour minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on August 21. The new system has been named IT System 2.01.
Senior functionaries of the labour ministry have told the media that the revamped IT system will usher in a lot of benefits for the subscriber of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation. These include a centralized claim settlement, end-to-end auto processing of claims and centralised disbursement of monthly pension.
Big benefits coming
The IT system 2.01 will also ensure EPF accounting based on Universal Account Number (UAN), restructured electronic challan-cum-receipt with statement and remittance challan. Moreover, when an employee switches jobs, there will be no need to apply for the transfer of member IDs.
Long deserved
In fact, the EPFO was one of the departments whose IT systems were out of place in a country that has migrated to modern digital technology-led smooth user experience in a number of domains such as banking transactions, insurance, ticketing for railways, cab hailing and payment, payment of different utility bills and the UPI architecture.
“Over the next few months, implementation of the EPFO 2.01 project will ease the processes and turnaround time for various member and employer transactions,” a senior official of the ministry told the media. Incidentally, the EPFO has already rolled out the system for auto-processing of claims up to Rs 1 lakh.
Rising EPFO members
Significantly the number of new subscribers in EPFO doubled in FY24 compared to FY19 – 1.31 crore in the last financial year against 61.1 lakh in FY19. The number of EPFO members indicate rising employment in the organsied sector, something that is desirable in any economy.
Mandatory in these firms
Any firm with 20 or more employees have to enroll its employees under the Employees’ Provident Fund. For companies with fewer than 20 employees, it is voluntary. Registering for EPF is also mandatory for those with monthly salary up to Rs 15,000.
In mid-2023 several officers of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation wrote to the Centre flagging the “collapsing” software system which was causing a lot of trouble to the subscribers. Biz News Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
