Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, on August 21, 2024, announced that a new information technology (IT) system, 2.01, of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), will be up and running within three months. EPFO, which comes under the Ministry of Labour, is overhauling its IT infrastructure, including migration to a new system, to address subscribers’ long-standing grievances about its slow processes.

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The new system will enable centralised claim settlement, including end-to-end claims processing in auto mode, centralised monthly pension disbursements, Universal Account Number (UAN)–based EPF accounting, restructured electronic challan-cum-receipt (ECR) with due statement and remittance challan. It will also remove the need to transfer member IDs when changing jobs.

Background

EPFO has been facing complaints about transaction delays and claim rejections due to technical issues and incorrect details like names and contact numbers. Of the 7.38 million claims in FY2022-23, EPFO rejected 2.49 million, which experts believe is due to the complete shift to an online claim settlement process that increased the online traffic volume, putting enormous pressure on its old IT platform.

EPFO is now trying to revamp their processing system to make it easier and faster for members to access their funds. It has already introduced a new online system for surrendering exemptions, simplifying the application process and reducing the time it takes to receive the funds. Further, the minister said it has automated the processing for all types of advance claims up to Rs. 1 lakh. As a result, around 40 per cent of advance claims are now being processed automatically, saving time and effort for the members.

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EPFO, which provides pensions to over 67 million members, added 19.29 lakh members in June 2024, a 7.86 per cent growth in member additions from the previous year.