Union Minister for Labour and Employment Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya chaired the 239th meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) in New Delhi today. In a social media post, Dr. Mandaviya stated that several important decisions were made during the meeting to improve the lives of millions of hardworking workers and to promote greater ease of doing business for employers. The Ministry of Labour and Employment said that the CBT has recommended an annual interest rate of 8.25% to be credited to EPF accumulations in members' accounts for the financial year 2025-26. The government will officially announce the interest rate, after which EPFO will credit the rate into the subscribers' accounts. This decision benefits millions of workers by strengthening their retirement security while reaffirming EPFO's commitment to safeguarding contributions and delivering prudent, sustainable, and attractive returns compared to other similar investment options.
The Ministry also added that the Board has approved a one-time amnesty scheme to address compliance issues arising from trusts recognized by income tax. Along with this, several schemes, including a new simplified SOP on EPF exemption, the new EPF, EPS and EDLI, and schemes in alignment with the Code on Social Security, 2020, to enhance efficiency, transparency, and ease of compliance, were also approved.