The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has started crediting 8.5% interest for 2019-2020 to around six crore EPF subscribers, Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said on Thursday.
Mr. Gangwar said a notification to the effect was issued earlier in the day and the process of crediting the amount into the accounts of the subscribers was under way. He said the announcement of 8.5% as the interest rate in March had surprised many, given the pandemic. He said the conditions in 2020 were not favourable. But, he was happy to announce that the decision taken in March was being implemented now. Of the amount, the 8.15% came from debt income and 0.35% from capital gains from the sale of Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), he said.
The EPFO had proposed in September to make the payment in two instalments of 8.15% and 0.35% after selling its investments in the ETFs. However, after the sale of the investments, it was able to propose crediting the entire 8.5% interest in one go, which the Finance Ministry approved, according to sources.
An EPFO official said the process had started on Thursday and that the ₹1,000 crore interest should get credited in all accounts within one week.
