CBT meeting on October 13 to evaluate the rollout of EPFO ​​3.0 and ELI

The Central Board of Trustees of the Employees Provident Fund Organization is scheduled to meet on October 13 to discuss a host of issues including upgrading pension fund manager technology under EPFO ​​3.0, the latest employment linked incentive scheme as well as enhancing investment patterns.

While the issue of increasing the minimum pension of Rs 1,000 is not on the agenda being circulated at the moment, sources indicated that it could be brought up for discussion in the meeting.

The Labor Ministry is looking into the possibility of revising the existing monthly pension of Rs 1,000 under the Employees Savings Scheme 1995 and various options for its revision, which has been a request of several pensioners and trade unions who have pointed out that the amount is insufficient to meet any need at all. However, it has not yet been confirmed whether this matter will be taken up at the CBT meeting.

This will be the first meeting of the CBT Committee, the apex decision-making body of the EPFO, in over nine months. The Central Bank of Tunisia last met in late February when it approved the interest rate on private financing deposits. The next two-day meeting was earlier scheduled to be held on October 11 and 12 in Bengaluru but has now been rescheduled.

According to sources, the most important agenda of CBT is to modernize EPFO’s work on technology and customer interface as part of EPFO ​​3.0. The upgrade, which is still ongoing and is likely to be completed within the next few months, is expected to provide ease in conducting transactions such as withdrawals and transfers to subscribers. Major IT companies including Infosys, Wipro and TCS have been chosen to manage the platform. The project was initially expected to be completed earlier this year, but took longer than expected due to technical testing.

Meanwhile, the labor ministry is also expected to present a detailed outline of the Employment Linked Incentive Scheme or Prime Minister Vixit Bharat Rozgar Yojana, which seeks to generate over 3.5 lakh jobs between August 2025 and July 2027, including Rs 1.92 lakh crore for first-time workers. The scheme was approved by the Union Cabinet in July and came into effect from August 1.

The Central Bank of Tunisia is also likely to address the issue of strengthening investment policies for pension fund managers although a change in investment standards is unlikely at the present time. According to sources, there were internal deliberations on this matter to evaluate how to improve investments and recovery. The issue has gained momentum as the EPFO ​​has found it difficult to offer higher returns on PF deposits.