The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation has slashed interest rate for EPF deposits to 8.65% from 8.8% for the current financial year. The decision to lower the interest rate was made after it was found that retaining the higher figure would have left a deficit of Rs 383 crore, reported PTI.
The retirement fund body has more than four crore subscribers. The projected income for the EPFO is Rs 39,084 crore this year.
Earlier in 2016, the Finance Ministry had decided to lower the interest rate to 8.7%, but it rolled back the decision and approved the 8.8% rate after various unions protested, reported The Economic Times.
Moreover, the Finance Ministry has asked the Labour Ministry to align the EPF interest rate with those of other government small saving schemes, such as the Public Provident Fund. In September, the government slashed the interest rates on small savings schemes by 0.1% for the October-December quarter, according to PTI.
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