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Union Labour and Employment Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya has said that Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has achieved a historic milestone by crossing the 5 crore claims settlement mark for the first time in its history in a fiscal year.
In the financial year 2024-25, EPFO has processed over 5.08 crore claims amounting to Rs 2,05,932.49 crore, surpassing the 4.45 crore claims worth Rs 1,82,838.28 crore settled in the previous financial year 2023-24. Mandaviya highlighted that this achievement has been made possible due to a series of transformative reforms initiated by EPFO to enhance claim settlement processes and reduce grievances among members. "We have implemented key measures, including an increase in the ceiling and categories of auto-settled claims, simplified member profile changes, streamlined PF transfers, and improved KYC compliance ratios. These reforms have significantly improved the efficiency of EPFO," he stated. A major enabler for faster claim processing has been the auto-claim settlement mechanism, ensuring that claims are settled within three days of submission. Dr Mandaviya said that the impact of this reform is evident, with auto claim settlements doubling to 1.87 crore claims in the current financial year, compared to 89.52 lakh auto claims processed during FY 2023-24. Similarly, reforms in the PF transfer claim submission process have streamlined the workflow significantly. Since the introduction of a simplified transfer claim application, only 8 per cent of transfer claims now require member and employer attestation. Notably, 48 per cent of claims are submitted directly by members without employer intervention, while 44 per cent of transfer requests are generated automatically, he added Mandaviya further emphasized the impact of member profile correction reforms. "Since the introduction of the simplified procedure, approximately 97.18 per cent of member profile corrections have been self-approved by members, with only 1 per cent requiring employer approval, and office intervention has been reduced to just 0.4 per cent. Further, the rejection cases have dropped to 1.11 per cent by the employer and 0.21 per cent by the regional office, reflecting the effectiveness of the streamlined processes and reduced procedural bottlenecks in claim settlements", Union Minister stated. Reaffirming the government's commitment to enhancing ease of access for EPFO members, Union Minister underscored that the organization will continue to leverage technology and process simplification to ensure a seamless and efficient service experience. "These reforms have not only accelerated the claim settlement process but have also contributed to minimizing member grievances, further strengthening trust in EPFO," he added. (ANI)
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