Govt to scrap EPFO-NPS switch, allow lower PF contribution: Report

To boost consumption, the government may increase the take-home salary by giving the option of reducing provident fund (PF) contribution, according to a report by The Economic Times.

Organised sector employees may soon be permitted to lower their PF contribution, which is currently 12 percent of the basic salary, the report said.

The provision is a part of the Social Security Code Bill, labour ministry officials told the paper. The bill, which has received the Cabinet approval, is likely to be tabled in Parliament this week.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

The minimum PF contribution, or the extent to which the contribution can be lowered, will be decided after the bill is passed in Parliament, according to the report.

The labour ministry has also scrapped the option for Employees Fund Provident Organisation (EPFO) subscribers to switch to the National Pension System (NPS), the Employee Pension Scheme.

The ministry has also decided not to corporatise the EPFO and Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), the report said.

The bill proposes establishing a social security fund using the corpus available from collections under corporate social responsibility (CSR), the report said.

“We have dropped all controversial proposals and kept our focus intact on the welfare of workers as well as improving the ease of doing business in India through amalgamation of existing laws under the Social Security Code,” a government official told The Economic Times.