Summary of this article
EPFO launches single-window centres like Passport Seva Kendras for faster EPF services.
Pilot project starts in Delhi. A successful rollout to expand to other regional offices.
Mission-mode KYC drive to reactivate inoperative accounts and return funds.
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will soon introduce single-window service centres, similar to the Passport Seva Kendras, to provide enhanced services to its subscribers. These centres will guide members on accessing the employee provident fund (EPF) benefits and resolve their issues.
EPFO for long has been grappling with issues including IT infrastructure, outmoded operational practices and redundant rules, giving rise to complaints and dissatisfied EPF members. Although it has taken several measures to improve the system and the overall experience of subscribers, it still has a long way to go to make subscribers satisfied with its services.
In a recent statement, Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports, Mansukh Mandaviya, informed that the EPFO holds Rs 28 lakh crore of EPF fund corpus and offers 8.25 per cent interest, which is a government guarantee. So, to make this scheme function better, the single-window centre pilot project is being implemented in Delhi, said Mandaviya while inaugurating a new building of EPFO in Gujarat last week. Based on its outcome and the feedback, other regional centres would also be converted into single-window centres.
He said that the upcoming and several existing regional offices of the EPFO will be revamped into modern technology-enabled centres. Under this, subscribers will be able to approach any of the regional offices of EPFO to get their queries answered and complaints resolved.
Other Reforms In The Process
According to the government statement, EPFO will also start a Mission-Mode KYC Drive to update subscribers’ KYC and return money lying in inoperative EPF accounts.
Another reform expected in the near future is EPF Suvidha providers. These providers will be authorised to guide members in availing of the services and will work as a bridge between members and EPFO. This mechanism, according to the minister, will be useful for members who are not familiar with the digital systems, such as first-time users.
This year, EPFO has initiated several reforms, including auto-settlement of claims for up to Rs 5 lakh, removal of submission of bank cheque leaf or attested copy of passbook, and recently approved changes in withdrawal rules.
It approved partial withdrawal of up to 75 per cent of the EPF corpus anytime after 12 months of service, and has also merged 13 different categories of partial withdrawals into three, making it seamless for subscribers. The Passbook Lite feature and UAN activation through the UMANG App are some of the key changes in EPFO services in 2025.
Any change in EPFO rules affects crores of its subscribers. As of March 31, 2024, it had around 325 million active EPF accounts, where around 74 million were of contributing members in 2023-24.
