Employees Provident Fund rate cut margilly

NEW DELHI, April 25: In a move that will affect some 15.84 crore contributors to the Employees Provident Fund scheme, the government has cut the interest rate for 2015-16 margilly to 8.7 per cent from the recommended rate of 8.8 per cent. The new rate came to light in a rather peculiar manner, with Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya informing the Lok Sabha about it in a written reply to a question posed by two lawmakers on Monday. The Minster said the Central Board of Trustee of the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) in its 211th meeting on February 16 this year had proposed an interim rate of interest at 8.80 per cent to be credited to the accounts contributors for year 2015-16. But the Ministry of Fince ratified an interest rate of 8.70 per cent, he said in the reply to the questions from C.R. Chaudhary of the Bharatiya Ja Party and P. garajan of the All India An Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. The minister also said that a proposal for comprehensive amendment to the relevant act on provident fund is under consideration, including a cut in the threshold limit for coverage from 20 employees in an organisation currently to 10 employees. The government has been under criticism for its moves on several social security schemes. Barely a week after presenting the budget in February, Fince Minister Arun Jaitley was forced to withdraw a proposal to tax 60 per cent of provident fund withdrawals made after April 1 this year if they are not re-invested in annuity funds. (IANS)