The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO ) is in the process of revamping its application software with the UAN based single accounting system for each member and automation of process flow with minimum human intervention for faster settlement of claims.
This was disclosed in a meeting held by the Ministry of Labour & Employment on reforms in the EPFO. The meeting was chaired by Sumita Dawra, Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment.
The new software is being developed with the consultation of Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC, according to a ministry statement .
Dawra commended the recent steps of EPFO to automate the claim settlement and reduce the rejections of claims.
For speedy disposal of claims, auto settlement of advances upto 1 lakh for illness, education, marriage and housing has been implemented by EPFO. About 25 lakh advance claims have been settled on auto mode.
More than 50 per cent of the illness claims settled till now have been settled on auto mode, the ministry said in a statement. This has increased claims settlement speed and a large number of them are now being settled within 3 days, it added.
The cheque book/passbook of bank account upload for the KYC Aadhaar linked accounts of members have been dispensed with, thus eliminating the scrutiny requirement in almost 13 lakh claims in the last one month, Sumita Dawra said.
The EPFO has also reduced and rationalised the remarks for easy comprehension of the members for return of incomplete cases and rejection of ineligible cases.
The number of auto transfers generated has also increased threefold with the numbers increasing to 6 lakh in May 2024 from 2 lakh in April 2024.
Dawra advised EPFO to continue the proactive steps for systemic reforms. The review meeting highlighted the need for the expansion of social security and new initiatives for ease of living and ease of business. The operational reforms in Litigation Management and Audit were also discussed during the meeting.
Dawra urged the officials to work in close coordination for an effective social security system.
The meeting was attended by Central Provident Fund Commissioner (CPFC) Neelam Shami Rao and other senior officers of the Ministry and EPFO.