NEW DELHI: Members of the retirement fund body, the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), withdrew Rs 39,402.9 million between March 25 and August 31 this year, Minister of Labor Santosh Gangwar saying Parliament in a written response on Monday.
the maximum quantity of EPF withdrawals during the period were made in Maharasthra (Rs 7,837.8 crore), followed by Karnataka (Rs 5,743.9 crore) and Tamil nadu, which amounted to 4,984.5 million rupees, Gangwar said.
The minister said the government took several measures under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) and Atmanirbhar Bharat plans to alleviate the distress of migrant workers. The measures include the payment of 12% of the participation of employers and 12% of employees under the EPF, for a total of 24% by the government for six months of salary from March to August for all establishments with up to 100 employees and 90% of these employees earn less than Rs 15,000 monthly salary.
The ministry also said it reduced EPF’s contribution from 12% to 10% of salaries for May, June and July, in addition to disclosing a non-refundable Covid advance, which was facilitated by the modification of the EPF scheme. These measures were intended to provide relief to employees during the lockdown period.
Shortly after the lockdown was imposed at the end of March, the government had provided a window for formal sector employees to withdraw a portion of their investment to address the Covid-19 crisis.
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