EPFO reform cannot stop at coverage

The Union Cabinet’s decision to raise the wage ceiling for mandatory Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) coverage from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 a month ends a 12-year freeze. Effective from September 17, the revision is expected to bring more than 51 lakh additional employees into the provident-fund, pension and insurance framework. EPFO currently has about 7.98 crore contributing members and 82 lakh pensioners. The government estimates an additional annual outgo of about ₹11,339 crore. The