logo
EPFO disposed of over 98.5 pc applications for pension on higher wages: Govt

EPFO disposed of over 98.5 pc applications for pension on higher wages: Govt

News187 days ago
Agency:
New Delhi, Jul 21 (PTI) Retirement fund body EPFO has processed and disposed of 98.5 per cent of the 15,24,150 applications for pension on higher wages (PoHW) as of July 16, 2025, Parliament was informed on Monday.
According to a written reply in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Labour & Employment Shobha Karandlaje, 4,00,573 demand letters were issued to applicants eligible for PoHW and 11,01,582 were rejected while 21,995 are pending.
'EPFO has processed and disposed of applications for pension on higher wages as per the directions of the Supreme Court in its judgement dated November 4, 2022. As on July 16, 2025, more than 98.5 per cent applications have been disposed off by EPFO," the minister said in his written reply on Monday.
The cases of PoHW are being processed on the basis of the decision of the Supreme Court on November 4, 2022.
Earlier in November 2022, the Supreme Court had upheld Employees' Pension (Amendment) Scheme 2014.
The Employees' Pension Scheme amendment of August 22, 2014 had raised the pensionable salary cap to Rs 15,000 a month from Rs 6,500 a month, and allowed members, along with their employers, to contribute 8.33 per cent on their actual salaries (if it exceeded the cap) towards the EPS.
It had given all EPS members, as on September 1, 2014, six months to opt for the amended scheme.
Later, the EPFO had also extended the deadline for members as well as employers to submit documents many times. PTI KKS TRB
view comments
First Published:
July 21, 2025, 18:30 IST
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Not just stalking accused, several VIP relatives on list of law officers appointed by Haryana govt
Not just stalking accused, several VIP relatives on list of law officers appointed by Haryana govt

Indian Express

time17 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

Not just stalking accused, several VIP relatives on list of law officers appointed by Haryana govt

THE Haryana government may be having a rethink over the appointment of Vikas Barala, an accused in a sexual harassment case, as Assistant Advocate General, but a scrutiny of the list shows that like Barala, many of those appointed as law officers are relatives of VIPs, including politicians and bureaucrats. This, ironically, when the Supreme Court, as early as 2016, had cautioned against such appointments and advised guidelines to insulate the process from politics. On July 18, Vikas Barala, the son of BJP Rajya Sabha MP and former Haryana BJP president Subhash Barala, was named as one of 97 law officers in the state. Talking to The Indian Express, Advocate General Pravindra Singh Chauhan said: 'As far as Vikas Barala is concerned, he has not joined yet…I was not aware of the background (of Vikas Barala). I don't think he (Vikas) will join.' AG Chauhan told The Indian Express that it was wrong to see all from one lens. 'I have seen their (the new appointees') working. All of them are competent lawyers. They have not made it to these posts due to their surnames, but only due to their competence. All the selections have been made on merit.' The AG's office in Haryana put out an advertisement in January for 100 posts of law officers (including 20 Additional AGs, 20 Senior Deputy AGs, 30 Deputy AGs and 30 Assistant AGs). A Selection Committee was then set up, with AG Chauhan as its head, and Special Secretary (Home) Maniram Sharma, 'Legal Remembrancer' Ritu Garg, and retired judges Darshan Singh and H S Bhalla as members. Of the 97 chosen, The Indian Express found, at least 23 have links to either politicians, bureaucrats or judges. These include at least seven close relatives of retired or serving high court judges, seven close relatives of IAS-IPS officers, seven close aides of BJP ministers or MLAs, and relatives of officials of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the State Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana. Aakash Singla, who has been appointed as Additional AG and whose father is a former head of the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana, told The Indian Express, 'I have been practising since 2012 and it is my first stint in the Haryana AG's office. I was earlier on the panel of Punjab and Haryana High Court.' Also appointed as Additional AG, Ruchi Sekhri, the BJP state secretary, Chandigarh, said, 'I have been practising for the last 22 years. It is my first stint in the Haryana AG's office.' Vasundhara Dalal Anand, the daughter of a former DGP who is also among the new Additional AGs, said she had been practising for over two decades and had earned her law degree from Delhi University. Another newly appointed Additional AG, not willing to be named, said she had been practising for nearly 15 years, and had earlier been with the Punjab AG's office. While an Additional AG in Haryana is entitled to Rs 1.8 lakh per month, apart from Rs 25,000 as retainer fee, a Deputy AG gets Rs 1.28 lakh, and an Assistant AG such as Vikas Barala Rs 88,400 per month. All the appointments are on a provisional/contract basis, and for a period of a year to begin with. A law officer's duties include giving advice to the state government in legal matters; to appear and defend the state government or its officials or any statutory authority before a court or tribunal; to represent the state government in any reference made by the President to the Supreme Court; and to discharge such other functions as are conferred on a law officer. The law officers are barred from appearing in any court of law 'against the interest of the state government'. Additionally, the AG can engage up to five advocates who 'possess such special qualifications and experience as deemed suitable for Law Officers'. The Haryana Law Officers' Engagement Act, 2016, says the candidates must be advocates, picked as per eligibility, merit and suitability, including the number of cases handled by them. While Barala's appointment has raised a row, such appointments took place under previous governments too. It was this that led to the Supreme Court curtailing the discretion of Punjab and Haryana governments in appointing law officers in March 2016, while advising guidelines for the same on the basis of merit and eligibility. Hearing a bunch of cases challenging law officers' appointments, a Bench of Chief Justice of India T S Thakur and Justice Kurian Joseph said: 'For a fair and objective system of appointment, there ought to be a fair and realistic assessment of the requirement. For otherwise, the appointments may be made not because they are required but because they come handy for political aggrandisement, appeasement or personal benevolence of those in power towards those appointed.' Rejecting the states' argument that appointments of law officers were contractual in nature and not public employment, the Court pointed out that the persons chosen lead some of the most important cases involving public interest. The Court also said that while its directions were confined to Punjab and Haryana, 'other states would (also) do well to reform their system of selection and appointment to make the same more transparent, fair and objective'. Subsequently, the BJP government in Haryana passed the Haryana Law Officers' Engagement Act in September 2016. Asked about Vikas Barala's appointment, former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda of the Congress said: 'I do not comment on individuals, but all I can say is that only competent people should be appointed (as law officers).' Another senior state politician said, 'It is commonly known that many of these appointments are political appointments. Of course, many of those who have political or bureaucratic linkages are also bright and competent and make it due to their competence, and not only due to their surnames.' Incidentally, on Thursday, hearing a case on the appointment of Punjab AG Maninderjit Singh Bedi, a Division Bench of the High Court held that 'you cannot succeed in the challenge to an office of Advocate General just by saying he is politically affiliated with some party… That cannot be a disqualification'. Meanwhile, in a Facebook post Thursday, Varnika Kundu, who had accused Vikas Barala of stalking and attempted abduction, said: 'Appointing someone to a public position of power is not just a political decision – it's a reflection of values and standards… Our policymakers run the country; the rest of us are just hoping they remember that they work FOR the INDIAN CITIZEN. What I will speak about is my own case – and the fact that despite months of national media attention, it has dragged on for this long with little progress… I continue to hold faith in the judiciary until the verdict is announced – but I won't deny that faith has wavered.'

Smriti Irani writes: In a world where AI can code, but not create, how India can fill the gap
Smriti Irani writes: In a world where AI can code, but not create, how India can fill the gap

Indian Express

time17 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

Smriti Irani writes: In a world where AI can code, but not create, how India can fill the gap

In my journey across the television screen, the political trail, transformative classrooms, the rattling loom, among other evolving contexts, I've seen one truth hold steady — our power lies in our imagination, curiosity, creativity and innovation. India's creative economy is projected to reach $80 billion by 2026, according to a report published recently. 'Creative Economy' is not just a smart phrase but holds the potential for building creative-cultural assets. It can operate as a strategic lever of inclusive growth. I want to bring together two powerful perspectives — education and entrepreneurship, and classrooms and creators. Together, they present India's development frontier with strong, inclusive opportunities. The question, therefore, arises: How quickly can our institutions prepare young minds with the skills and confidence to help them participate in the creative economy? A recent survey-backed report, 'Shaping Education to nurture the $80 billion Creative Economy', by a leading Indian management consulting firm, states that only 9 per cent of students across 22 states demonstrate strong readiness in design thinking, research and real-world problem-solving. These are 21st-century skills and core competencies of the creative economy. In a world where AI can code but not create, these gaps matter. The NEP 2020 calls for embedding 21st-century skills — critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication — into the curriculum. But we must go further. With the CBSE now mandating art-integrated learning from Grades I–X, and the Rs 400 crore Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) launching in Mumbai, the blueprint is emerging. Creativity cannot be part-time, and in that sense, it cannot be extracurricular. It is time to mainstream creative entrepreneurial mindset training — through maker spaces, startup labs, and design sprints. Let creativity be assessed not just in art rooms, but in business models, digital portfolios and social impact. Bring it midstream in the curriculum. The Report also highlights how international boards such as the International Baccalaureate (IB) are more successful in developing core competencies of the creative economy in school students compared to Indian boards. India's creative force is exploding — not just in metros, but in village courtyards, small-town lanes, and local community centres. With affordable tech and deep cultural roots, over 100 million Indians — farmers, weavers and local experts — have become digital creators. The creator economy has now surpassed the $500 million mark, powered not by polished panache but by raw authenticity! Its revolutionary power shatters barriers: In Rajasthan, women resurrect and champion vanishing oral histories through vibrant smartphone films. In Bihar, Bhojpuri creators fill the education gaps left by traditional systems. They aren't just telling stories — they are telling 'their' stories and fuelling a grassroots movement, rooted in language, identity and local pride. We saw this raw, vernacular creative surge reshaping how India speaks, learns and leads in the recent launch of India's first public streaming platform, WAVES OTT, owned by Prasar Bharati. WAVES OTT accomplishes what commercial giants may not — by elevating daily creators, it is making local content and storytelling part of the national conversations. In today's India, the most powerful public messaging isn't top-down; it's created, uploaded, and amplified from the ground up. WAVES is not a passive pipeline of content; it is a democratic bridge. It confers institutional legitimacy on creators emerging from villages and towns and provides them with an equal opportunity to stream their content. Small-time films, established content producers, influencers, and student films can all showcase their content alongside each other. In classrooms across India, teachers are turning into creators, and students into solopreneurs. Khan Sir from Patna — armed with chalk, wit, and a camera — educates millions through YouTube. Meanwhile, Bengaluru's Parikrma Foundation builds storytelling, theatre, and filmmaking into everyday learning. In Maharashtra, 17-year-old Shraddha Garad launched her own digital embroidery tutorial channel during the pandemic, is now selling patterns online and mentoring younger girls in her village — a student, a creator, and an entrepreneur rolled into one. These aren't outliers — they are early signals of a systemic shift. Our policy must now respond with speed and scale. Imagine government-backed media labs and creator incubators in every district —where students prototype campaigns, narrate local stories, and learn digital production as a life skill. But this transformation won't happen in silos. Ministries like MoE, MSDE and I&B must converge — blending skilling with storytelling, curriculum with creator capital. In a Viksit Bharat, literacy isn't just about reading and writing — it's about creating, pitching, and publishing. Yet, the true power of the creative economy will be unlocked not only from scale but in its social resonance. In communities where institutions are slow or absent, creators are stepping in — bridging information gaps, shifting norms and activating public awareness in real time. In Odisha, tribal teenagers use Odiya rap videos to teach climate-resilient farming — reaching over 5,00,000 farmers, where traditional extension systems have fallen short (UNICEF, 2024). In Kerala, ASHA workers produce short-form health content in Malayalam, doubling engagement on TB awareness compared to state-led clinic outreach. Vernacular influencers, across platforms, have driven more than 70 million views on subjects like menstrual health, child nutrition, and vaccinations — topics too often left out of mainstream media. As we journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047, our greatest strength will not be in factories or code — but in our capacity to imagine, narrate, and innovate. In a world shaped by algorithms, India's currency is creativity — and its potential is limitless. Let's build an India where every child is a creator, and every creator is a force for economic, cultural, and social transformation. That is the India we must shape. The writer is a former Union Minister

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store