PF interest rate hike sought

ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU

NEW DELHI, JAN 31: Labour minister Satyanarayan Jatia is again taking up with the finance minister the issue of enhancement of interest on the pension and employees' deposit-linked insurance scheme funds deposited in public accounts.Earlier attempts to get 12.5 per cent interest on these funds, in place of the existing 8.5 per cent, have not succeeded. While the finance ministry has allowed investment of fresh accruals under the employees' deposit-linked insurance scheme as per the prescribed provident fund pattern, the proposal to give 12.5 per cent interest on the amount in the pension fund has not been agreed to.The labour ministry has been pursuing the matter as there has been persistent demand from the trade unions for the enhancement of the interest rates with a view to augmenting the pension fund and to improve pensionary benefits to the provident fund subscribers. Currently, funds amounting to over Rs 10,000 crore are lying in these accounts.The issue is likely to come up again at the forthcoming 35thsession of the standing labour committee next week along with recovery of provident fund dues. The last Indian Labour Conference had recommended that enforcement machinery for recovery of statutory dues of provident fund should be strengthened. The government in its action taken report on the recommendation has stated that employees provident fund commissioner toured and reviewed functioning of 16 regional offices and 17 sub-regional offices.

It said during 1997-98, the EPF organisation disposed of 3,851 revenue recovery certificates and recovered Rs 193.65 crore of dues as against Rs 105.23 crore in the previous year.It said a system of displaying 10 biggest defaulters' names on the notice board has been introduced and cases of defaulting Rs 10 lakh and above are being monitored.

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