What is EPF? How to Know EPF Balance online?

There will be plenty of Employees out there like me who either are not interested to know about EPF or are not aware what is EPF and why it has been deducted from our salary. What are the advantages to contributing towards Employee Provident Fund?

What is EPF?

Employee Provident Fund (EPF) is implemented by the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) of India. Typically 12% of the Basic, DA, and cash value of food allowances has to be contributed to the EPF account.

How EPF is Calculated – with Example?

Employees drawing basic salary upto Rs 6500/- have to compulsory contribute to the Provident fund and employees drawing above Rs 6501/- have an option to become member of the Provident Fund. It is beneficial for employees who draw salary above Rs 6501/- to become member of Provident Fund as it is deducted from the salary before it is deposited on bank or given hence compulsorily saving happens. Employee’s contribution is matched by Employer’s contribution(till 12%) so extra money and it is helpful for tax purpose too. The employer contribution is exempt from tax and employee’s contribution is taxable but eligible for deduction under section 80C of Income tax Act.

How to Know EPF Balance online?

1. Go to http://members.epfoservices.in/index.php and Register an new account by clicking on “Click here to register“
2. Carefully  enter  * Compulsory Fields like Mobile Number, Date of birth, Select any one document and enter Number as on document; choose this document number wisely and the choose the one which you can remember easily as it will be required each time you logged in to your account. You should enter your name as on document (First Name + Last Name) and finally your working e-mail address.
3. Enter Captcha as shown in the image (Please type the characters shown in the text box (case-sensitive)
4. Click on GET PIN button and you will receive one SMS on your mobile containing Authorization PIN, which you supposed to enter before submitting the details.
5. Read Disclaimer and click on I Agree check box and then click on Submit button.
6. Now after successfully registration you need to log in using the details you have provided earlier.
7. From Menu – Click on DOWNLOAD E PASSBOOK Link (http://members.epfoservices.in/choose_ofc_details_mpb.php)

8. Select the state where your establishment is covered.
9. Select Office Name from the list (you can refer your salary slip to know which office to select, as your PF Account number is combination of Region Code/Office Code/Account Number
10. After selecting office you will be asked to Enter your Account number, again this is available with you on your Pay Slip (Salary Slip)
11. Enter Name as on PF Slip and Enter Captcha and click on GET PIN
12. Enter the new received Authorization PIN and click on Get Detail.
13. You will see a message “Sorry. Your e-Passbook is not available at present on the member portal. The same needs to be generated by the Regional Office/ Sub-Regional Office concerned. You can request for your e-passbook by clicking the button below.
14. Click on “Send request to get your e-Passbook” button and click on OK to confirm, you will see another message “Your e-Passbook request has been accepted. You shall be intimated on SMS when the same is available. You can check back after 3 days.”

Note: At any point in time if you get an error like “You have entered invalid Member ID or Name”; it’s because you have entered incorrect details either in Account Number or Name or you chose wrong Office Name. Correct the details and try again.

A must read article for everyone who are curious to know insights about EPF – –http://www.bemoneyaware.com/blog/epf/. A special thanks to Kirti for sharing detailed analysis on EPF.

Hope this article will help you to understand more about EPF and how you can know you EPF balance online easily. Don’t forget to share you feedback! 

Nationwide review of rural job scheme NREGS ordered by government

NEW DELHI: The NDA government, uncomfortable with the UPA's flagship rural employment guarantee scheme, has ordered a nationwide review of the Rs 35,000 crore programme to see if it meets the objectives of generating jobs and creating durable assets. The government has received complaints of corruption and pilfering of funds even after an electronic funds management system and biometric authentication of workers were put in place for disbursal of payments to workers. In several cases, states used machines instead of hiring workers. Besides, only 28 per cent of the payments were made on time to workers during 2014-15.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is aimed at ensuring 100 days of employment in a financial year to adult members of a rural household who volunteer to do unskilled manual work.

To take stock of the on-ground situation, the government has decided to send teams to all states to verify the work done, a senior rural development ministry official said. It has already taken note of a large number of incomplete works and lack of awareness among many households regarding their entitlements.

 

These teams of four officials each will visit the gram panchayats, talk to the local people and evaluate the impact of the National Rural Employment Generation Scheme (NREGS) and other rural development projects. The first phase of the exercise will be carried out in 76 districts across all states and Union Territories. "The advantages of NREGS have not reached the poorest. And the programme has never been in the good books of NDA...We need better monitoring at this point instead of completely scrapping the scheme," said Amitabh Kundu, a senior fellow with the Delhi Policy Group. States will be pulled up where lapses are found in implementation of the programmes which, apart from NREGS, include Indira Awaas Yojna, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna and Grameen Kaushalya Yojna.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been critical of NREGS, calling it a living example of six decades of failure of the Congress party. "It has to pay people to dig ditches," Modi had said in an address in Parliament in February.

Although the NDA government has taken steps to overhaul the scheme, it is yet to see results. Already under criticism from the opposition about not doing enough for rural India, the Modi government wants to ensure that its social sector schemes don't just remain on paper. It is pushing the financial inclusion plan of Jan Dhan Yojna primarily meant for the poor, while also converging other schemes including Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojna and Swachch Bharat Mission with NREGS. The strategy for rural development is also being realigned after the social and economic caste census showed that a third of the rural households is landless and depends on manual labour for income. The need to monitor developmental schemes is crucial because the onus of converging and implementing all programmes lies with the state governments. "Common mission reviews have been done for the health and education sector schemes. It is important that we set some national-level monitors for rural development as well," a senior government official said. States will be held accountable for putting in place checks and balances for timely measurement of work, closure of payments, spreading public information and creation of a system of technical supervision.

Portugal begins job of clarifying government's future after election brings uncertainty

An election campaign poster with the slogan "Vote to change" lies on the ground in Lisbon, Monday, Oct. 5 2015, the day after Portugal's general elections. The poster belongs to the new leftist party Livre, or Free, which failed to win any seats in parliament. The center-right coalition government won Sunday's ballot despite its unpopular austerity policies. (AP Photo/Armando Franca) (The Associated Press)

The Portuguese flag flies on the roof of the Portuguese parliament in Lisbon, Monday, Oct. 5 2015, the day after Portugal's general elections. The center-right coalition government won the ballot despite its unpopular austerity policies. The Social Democratic Party and junior Popular Party collected almost 37 percent and 99 seats in Parliament, with four seats from votes abroad still to be allocated. (AP Photo/Armando Franca) (The Associated Press)

Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, left, is received by President Anibal Cavaco Silva at the Belem presidential palace in Lisbon, Portugal, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015. Cavaco Silva has began a round of meetings to decide on the best path forward following Sunday's general elections. The incumbent center-right government collected most votes but lost its outright majority in Parliament. (AP Photo/Armando Franca) (The Associated Press)

Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, left, arrives at the Belem presidential palace in Lisbon, Portugal to be received by President Anibal Cavaco Silva, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015. Cavaco Silva has began a round of meetings to decide on the best path forward following Sunday's general elections. The incumbent center-right government collected most votes but lost its outright majority in Parliament. (AP Photo/Armando Franca) (The Associated Press)

LISBON, Portugal –  Senior Portuguese officials are starting the delicate task of installing a stable government after a general election that complicated the way forward as much as it clarified.

At stake are debt-reduction measures and reforms that were designed to help the eurozone country's economy recover from a 78 billion euro ($87 billion) bailout in 2011 and a subsequent three-year recession.

The incumbent center-right government collected most votes in Sunday's ballot, but it will be outnumbered in Parliament by left-of-center lawmakers who want to ease or end austerity.

That could spell political gridlock and bring another bout of market nervousness about the eurozone's commitment to fiscal discipline.

President Anibal Cavaco Silva was due to begin meetings with party leaders Monday to decide on how to advance.

India's jobs crisis: Why millions are applying for a handful of lowly government jobs

Some of the applicants, we're told, even had doctorates.

If you've ever been to an Indian government office, you won't miss the peons. They are lowly bureaucrats, often dressed in shabby khaki uniforms, dispatched to fetch sweetened masala tea or track down obscure and dusty files.

But they are also powerful gatekeepers. It is well known in India that keeping a peon happy will likely ensure your paperwork ends up with the right signatures and your meetings actually take place without a grueling wait.

But even so... 2.3 million applications? That's 6,250 applicants for each job!

The eye-catching numbers reveal serious problems for India.

Jobs crisis

There is no doubt that India has a jobs crisis. According to India's Labor and Employment Ministry, India's total workforce comprises 485 million people. 93% of these workers are in what is known here as the "informal sector," often a euphemism for off-the-grid work with no real contracts, job security, pensions, or health care.

To these mind-numbing numbers you can add one more: every year, between 10 and 12 million more Indians enter the workforce. This number will keep increasing given the fact that the average Indian is a very young 27-years-old.

It is a painful truth that India simply isn't creating enough jobs for all these new job-seekers.

Another painful truth is that an alarming number of these job-seekers aren't even very good. According to India's National Skill Development Mission, only 4.69% of India's workforce has undergone any formal skill training. Compare that with the U.S. (52%), the UK (68%), Germany (75%), Japan (80%) or South Korea (95%).

Root cause?

India produces 700,000 engineering graduates every year. But when India's best tech companies hire some of these graduates they usually spend a number of months training them so they are up to scratch. And that's the case for the ones from the best schools; many of the rest don't even get a job in their chosen field.

That's the other painful truth about India: schools. In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, out last week, there were no Indian universities in the top 200. Two universities were ranked between 200th and 400th; only eight others made it between 400th and 500th.

Despite the relatively low global rankings of Indian universities, seats are highly coveted, and competition is unprecedented.

The famous Indian Institutes of Technology collectively have about 10,000 seats available annually, for which some half a million students compete -- some of them try for a second or third year running. That's an admissions rate of 0.2%, making it mathematically 30 times easier to get into Harvard or Yale. The applicant pools, of course, are apples and oranges.

Even the humanities colleges are out of reach for most -- some of the top Delhi universities boast "cut-offs" as high as 99%. A student would need to be statistically perfect -- ironic, if your subject is English literature -- to get in.

With rote-learning, intense competition and pressure comes, you guessed it, cheating. Every spring in India we learn of mass cheating scandals. Parents scaling university walls to get "cheat-sheets" to their children; illegal "donations" to get people into coveted colleges; there are entire websites devoted to cheating devices like hidden earpieces and erasers with hidden chips.

In this Wednesday, March 18, 2015 photo, parents climb the wall of a building to help students appearing in an examination in Hajipur, in the eastern Indian state of Bihar.

Security, healthcare -- and a slice of the pie

For most Indians, the path to a job is littered with these stories: cheating, intense competition, poor schools, few good jobs, and broken systems of social security. Perhaps that explains why 2.3 million people would opt for the security of a boring "peon" job -- stable pay, state pension and healthcare.

There's also the small matter of corruption and bribery. According to Transparency International, only 84 countries are less corrupt than India. Despite recent crackdowns, graft is rampant. And it is well known that peons often get a slice of the pie.

It is little surprise then that the recent World Economic Forum report on global competitiveness rates India so badly. India ranks 90th in the world for higher education and training; 103rd in the world for labor market efficiency; 120th in the world for technological readiness.

We often tell stories of India's immense potential, and how it is the world's fastest growing major economy. That's one side of the story.

There is no doubt that India could be one of the drivers of global growth in the 21st century. But it has a long, long way to go, and the road begins with education, skills training, and jobs.