Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Apr 30, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Apr 30, 2004 |
||
|
|
||
|
Industry & Economy
-
Pension Plans EPFO pilot project makes a good start Our Bureau
Mangalore , April 29 THE pilot project of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), "Re-inventing EPF India", which was launched four years ago in six of its offices, seems to have made a good start by issuing national social security number (NSSN) cards to nearly 3.5 crore workers in the country. The Central Provident Fund Commissioner, Mr Ajai Singh, is hopeful of issuing nearly eight crore NSSN cards to workers in two to three years. Mr Singh was addressing EPFO members here after distributing NSSN cards to them. Mangalore Sub-Regional Office of EPFO is one among the six offices selected for this project. He lauded the Mangalore office for leading the list in the allotment of NSSN cards. Stating that the citizens expect better service from public and government organisations, Mr Singh said that this was one of the key considerations for launching the project. Mr Singh claimed that EPFO is the first government department to implement such a major project. He said that the organisation wanted to use modern technology for the welfare of its members. This helps automatically transfer the PF balance of NSSN cardholder in case of change in the job of the member. The monthly updating of PF account will help settle claims quickly, he said. The re-invented EPF facility allows the cardholder to get the account settled in any of the 280 PF offices in the country. The organisation is also trying options to make online contributions by the employer in all banks. At present, the facility is available at the branches of State Bank of India. The Regional Provident Fund Commissioner, Karnataka Region, Mr N.A. Nair, said that 50,000 cards are ready for distribution in the region. The Mangalore Sub-Regional Office has covered 80 per cent of the workforce under its jurisdiction. Mr Giridhar Prabhu, former President of Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who spoke on behalf of employers, said that EPFO should take steps to allow the workers withdraw a small portion of amount in case they need it. If the members are allowed to withdraw a portion of amount while they need it, it will help boost social security, he said.
More Stories on : Pension Plans | Karnataka
Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page
|
Stories in this Section |
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | The Hindu Images | Home |
Copyright © 2004, The
Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu Business Line
|