EPFO adds 13.6 lakh net subscribers during January, 2021
Ravi S Singh
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 21
Bucking the negative trend caused because of nation-wide lockdown, the EPFO of the Labour Ministry added 13.36 lakh net subscribers during the month of January, 2021-a growth of 24 per cent over December, 2020.
The Ministry of Labour says that, in effect, despite the pandemic, the number of subscribers has increased to around 62.49 lakh during the current financial year.
The provisional payroll data of EPFO made public on Saturday, highlights a growing trend of subscriber base with the addition of net subscribers during the month of January.
A year-on-year comparison of payroll data indicates an increase of 27.79 per cent in net subscribers’ as compared to the corresponding period last year, indicating a return to the pre-Covid levels of subscriber growth for EPFO.
“Growing trend in EPFO payroll numbers and the accelerated expansion of the subscription base may partly be attributed to recent e-initiatives taken by it for seamless and uninterrupted service delivery,” the Ministry said
Of the 13.36 lakh net subscribers added in January 2021, around 8.20 lakh new members will receive the benefit of EPFO’s social security schemes for the first time.
Around 5.16 lakh net subscribers exited and then rejoined EPFO indicating switching of jobs by the subscribers within the establishments covered by it.
Net payroll addition data also reflects that the number of members exiting EPFO has been declining continuously after the peaking in June 2020, during the current financial year.
Age-wise analysis indicates that during January 2021, the age-bracket of 22-25 has registered substantial growth in subscriber base with around 3.48 lakh net enrollments.
This age-group may be considered as freshers in the job market. This is followed by the age bracket of 29-35 with around 2.69 lakh net enrollments, which can be seen as experienced workers who changed jobs for career growth and opted to be with EPFO.
