Govt informs that software upgradation may delay EPF interest display

The employees' provident fund (EPF) subscribers' accounts are being credited with the interest amount, according to the finance ministry. If it is not reflected in the statements, it is because the EPFO software is undergoing an upgrade. No subscriber has lost any interest money, according to the ministry.

"No subscriber's interest has been lost. All EPF members' accounts are being credited with the interest. However, due to a software upgrade that EPFO made to account for changes in the tax incidence, that is not apparent in the statements "In a quote tweet, the ministry of finance stated.

The finance ministry added, "Payments are made inclusive of interest for all departed customers seeking settlement and for subscribers seeking withdrawal."

The government approved an employee provident fund (EPF) interest rate of 8.1% for the years 2021–2022, which is the lowest it has been in four decades. The EPF interest rate is at its lowest point since 1977–1978, when it was 8%. The EPFO manages assets of Rs 15.7 lakh crore and has over 65 million members.

The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) determined on the 8.5 percent interest rate on EPF deposits year 2020–21 in March 2021. The CBT is a tripartite EPFO body made up of representatives from the government, employees, and employers. The CBT's decisions are binding on the EPFO. The minister of labour serves as its leader.

In October 2021, the finance minister approved it. The EPFO then instructed field offices to credit the subscribers' accounts with the interest income, which was set at 8.5% for 2020–21.

The government last week raised the interest rates on modest savings programmes, including Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) and time deposits, upward by up to 30 basis points for the months of October through December 2022, after standing unchanged for more than two years. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which has been increasing the repo rate over the past few months in order to raise interest rates on various deposits and loans in the nation, made the move at the same time.

The repo rate was raised by the RBI last week by 50 basis points to 5.9%, marking the fourth straight hike. The RBI's rate-setting panel has increased rates by a total of 190 basis points throughout the course of the last four reviews of the monetary policy since May of this year. The interest rate at which the RBI loans money to commercial banks is known as the repo rate.