231st meeting of EPF Central Trustee Board held in Delhi

New Delhi [India], July 30 (ANI): Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) concluded its 231st meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) in New Delhi on Saturday.
The two-day meeting was held under the chairmanship of Union Minister for Labour and Employment Bhupender Yadav.
According to Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Board discussed and deliberated upon the progress made on the recommendation of the four Ad-hoc Committees for streamlining the core work areas of human resources, information technology and pension. The coverage and related litigation were placed before the Board for deliberations.

The Board resolved that its Standing Committees on Finance, Pension and Exempted establishments be revamped, and domain experts may be associated with each of the Standing Committees. It was decided that a Standing Committee on HR matters may also be constituted.
The transfer policy for Group B officials in EPFO was approved to facilitate rule and merit-based intra-state transfer of officials.
The proposal to engage 35 Young Professionals (Law) as researchers for litigation management and other related work areas in EPFO was approved. These young professionals with the requisite domain expertise and professional training shall facilitate professionalising litigation management in EPFO.
The Board approved the proposal for the creation of additional posts in the EPF offices in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh for better administration of EPF and MP Act, 1952 made applicable after the formation of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in 2019.
The recommendation of the selection committee for the appointment of M/s CITI Bank as Custodian of securities of EPFO for three years was approved. The proposal for the extension of the tenure of present custodian M/s Standard Chartered Bank till the new custodian takes over was ratified.
The proposal for the extension of the Tenure of ETF manufacturer of SBI MF and UTI MF was ratified.
The Board ratified the extension of the tenure of the present External Concurrent Auditor, which was expiring on March 31, 2022, till the appointment and taking charge by the new External Concurrent Auditor.
The Board appreciated the pension endeavours of EPFO. Several pension reforms have ensured timely disbursement of pension to EPFO pensioners and facilitated the updating Jeevan Pramaan through convenient procedures. The Board gave in-principal approval for centralized disbursal of pension for further improving the EPFO services for pensioners.
Further, Vision Document 2047 of EPFO was shared with members of the Board. The document has set out milestones for EPFO at five-year intervals, till 2047. Board members were requested to review the same and come forth with their suggestions for further improving upon the draft.
The Board was apprised of the status of pension litigation (pension on higher wages) in the Supreme Court of India. It was informed that a three-judge bench of the court will shortly take up the matter for adjudication.
Immediately after the Central Board meeting, a public function was organized. In this function, Chairman CBT launched Pension and EDLI Calculators providing an online facility to pensioner and family members to calculate the benefits of Pension and Death Linked Insurance Benefit for which they are eligible.
The Chairman CBT also launched the facility of Face authentication technology for Digital Life Certificate to help those pensioners who face difficulties in getting their biometrics (fingerprint and iris) captured due to old age.
The Chairman CBT released the Training Policy of EPFO which aims at developing the officers and staff of EPFO into a competent, responsive, and future-ready cadre committed to fulfil the vision and mission of EPFO as a world-class Social Security Provider.
The Chairman CBT also released the Legal Framework Document with the objective to transform EPFO into an efficient and responsible Litigant to ensure the conduct of litigation in a coordinated and time-bound manner. (ANI)