The Ministry of Labour and Employment is ready to roll out a major reform allowing 7.48 active Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) subscribers to withdraw up to 75 per cent of their provident fund (PF) balance through a UPI interface directly into their linked bank accounts.
Top sources said the Ministry is looking for a convenient time to announce this EPFO 3.0 reform to upgrade the ease of living facility to cut down the hassle of time-consuming, complex paperwork and expedite claim processing.
New architecture
Overall, there are 29 crore registered PF accounts, which include both 7.48 crore active subscribers and the rest dormant ones. The next level of digital reform will offer a completely new architecture of the EPFO, with core banking solutions at the backend of the centralised system. It will also give a window to members of the Organisation to access their PF service records, similar to the facility banks provide, which will also help in resolving issues from any EPFO office across the country.
The EPFO has undertaken mission-mode initiatives to reduce PF-related litigations and ensure the timely resolution of pending cases across various legal forums, Union Minister for Labour & Employment Mansukh Mandaviya said on Tuesday.
To achieve that, Mandaviya said, the EPFO launched a dedicated mission-mode drive for the disposal of cases pending before consumer courts.
Under the “Nidhi Aapke Nikat (NAN)” programme, cases were identified in advance and taken up for expedited resolution.
As a result, the number of pending consumer cases declined significantly from 4,936 as of April 1, 2024, to 2,646 as of March 31, 2026, he stated.
The overall pendency of litigation cases too has come down from 31,036 cases as on April 1, 2025, to 27,639 cases as on April 1, 2026, reflecting a reduction of a total of 3,397 cases, noted the Minister, adding that this marks the lowest ever level of litigation pendency in EPFO.
Long pending cases
“Special emphasis was also placed on reducing long-pending cases. Consequently, the number of cases pending for more than 10 years declined from 8,539 to 4,665, registering a reduction of 3,874 cases, or nearly 45.4 per cent,” the Minister added
At the same time, the EPFO conducted a nationwide special campaign during February-March 2026 for cases pending before Central Government Industrial Tribunals (CGITs). The campaign focused on disputes relating to interest payable by employers on delayed remittances under the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.
This initiative resulted in the disposal of 353 appeals, while efforts are continuing for the expeditious disposal of another 650 related cases. Mandaviya also said that the EPFO is planning to use the WhatsApp platform with the objective of enhancing outreach and streamlining member services.
Published on May 19, 2026