EPFO member may soon be able to withdraw EPF money through ATMs, UPI directly
New Delhi, Jun 24 (PTI): Retirement fund body EPFO subscribers may soon be able to withdraw their employees' provident fund (EPF) directly from their accounts through ATMs or other modes like UPI after linking their bank accounts with EPF.
A highly placed source said the labour ministry is working on a project where a certain proportion of the EPF will be frozen and a large chunk will be available for withdrawal through their bank account using various modes like UPI or ATM debit cards.
The source also said there are some software challenges to implementing this system, which are being resolved.
Presently, the members of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) have to apply for withdrawal claims to access their EPF money, which is time-consuming.
Under the auto-settlement mode, the withdrawal claims are settled electronically without manual intervention within three days of filing the application form.
The limit of this auto-settlement mode has been raised to Rs 5 lakh on Tuesday from existing Rs 1 lakh.
This will facilitate a large number of EPFO members to access their EPF money within three days for illness, education, marriage, and housing purposes.
The EPFO, which has more than 7 crore members, had first introduced online auto-settlement of advance claims during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide quick assistance to those facing financial crunch.
However, all members have to file claims to access their own EPF.
The new system is being evolved to avoid this time-consuming process and reduce the burden of the EPFO, as over 5 crore claims mostly for withdrawing EPF are settled every year.
The source said that the EPFO cannot allow its members to withdraw money directly from the EPF accounts because the body does not have any banking licences.
However, the source said that the government wants to improve the services of the EPFO at par with banks.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
