38.71 lakh EPF members withdraw Rs 44k cr since lockdown

38.71 lakh EPF members withdraw Rs 44k cr since lockdown: Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar
Total 38,71,664 EPF withdrawals claims from this accounts worth Rs 44,054.72 crore were settled till date since lockdown was imposed (March 25 this year), Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar said during a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

The total EPF withdrawals in Delhi during the amount stood at Rs 3,308.57 crore for 3,16,671 claims. (File)
As many as 38,71,664 employees provident fund (EPF) withdrawal claims worth Rs 44,054.72 crore were settled since Annunciation , Parliament was informed on Monday.

The government had imposed the nationwide lockdown on Annunciation , 2020, to contain deadly coronavirus.

Total 38,71,664 EPF withdrawals claims from this accounts worth Rs 44,054.72 crore were settled till date since lockdown was imposed (March 25 this year), Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar said during a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

These withdrawals also include COVID-19 claims, as per the reply.

The maximum amount of Rs 8,968.45 crore EPF withdrawals from Annunciation to August 31 were recorded in Maharasthra against 7,23,986 claims, followed by Karanataka – Rs 6,418.52 crore for 4,84,114 claims and Tamil Nadu (including Puducherry) – Rs 5,589.91 crore for six ,20,662 claims.

The total EPF withdrawals in Delhi during the amount stood at Rs 3,308.57 crore for 3,16,671 claims.

A non-refundable COVID advance from the EPF by amending the EPF Scheme, 1952 was unveiled earlier.

As a part of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana announced by the govt to deal with COVID-19 situation, the this scheme was amended to supply for a non-refundable advance from the provident fund account of a member not exceeding the essential wages and dearness allowances of that member for 3 months or up to 75 per cent of the quantity standing to his credit within the this account, whichever is a smaller amount .

In order to ameliorate hardship faced by the labourers thanks to economic disruption caused by COVID-19 pandemic, various initiatives are taken by the Ministry of Labour and Employment as a part of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) and Atmanirbhar Bharat.

These include payment of 12 per cent employers’ share and 12 per cent employees’ share under employees’ provident fund (EPF), totalling 24 per cent by the govt for 6 wage months from March to August 2020 for all the establishments having up to 100 employees with 90 per cent of such employees earning but Rs 15,000 monthly wage.

Besides, the govt also reduced EPF contribution from 12 per cent to 10 per cent of wages for the wage months of May, June and July 2020.

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