Amid possibility of a 0.5 per cent cut in the interest rate for the current fiscal, the Employees Provident Fund Board will meet in New Delhi on January 27 to finalise the EPF rate, which is 8.5 per cent at present.
EPFO sources said the organisation was facing acute shortage of funds and would be left with a surplus of only Rs 10.25 crore (Rs 102.5 million) if it paid eight per cent interest in the current financial year. If the existing rate of 8.5 per cent had to be retained, the EPFO would face a deficit of Rs 450 crore (Rs 4.5 billion).
The Central Board of Trustees of EPF at its last meeting in New Delhi on December 7 had failed to arrive at a consensus on interest rate to be given to its more than four crore (40 million) members for this fiscal because of the financial position.
While trade unions, particularly those affiliated with the Left parties, demanded a 9.5
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