Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 13 (PTI) Kerala Labour Minister V Sivankutty on Sunday asked the central government to maintain the interest rate on employees' provident fund (EPF) deposits at 8.5 per cent and not to slash it to 8.1 per cent as recommended by the Central Board of Trustees (CBT).

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The minister has made the request in a letter to Union Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav.

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Sivankutty, in the letter, has said that the CBT's recommendation "has created huge resentment among the workers".

"The decision, if implemented, will adversely affect more than 6.4 crore workers' retirement income. This is the only amount they receive during their retirement.

"It may also be noted that most of the workers get only a minimum EPF pension of Rs 1,000 after retirement," the minister has said in his letter.

He has further said that he was aware there was an issue of income and payout at the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).

"What we request is that the Government of India should ensure the investment of EPFO's huge corpus fund of more than Rs 15 lakh crore with sovereign guarantee at a good rate.

"In these circumstances, I request you to maintain the EPF rate at 8.5 per cent itself during 2021-22," Sivankutty has said in his letter.

The recommended interest rate of 8.1 per cent is the lowest since 1977-78 when it was 8.0 per cent.

The CBT's recommendation has to go to the Union Finance Ministry for approval and thereafter, it would be officially notified in the government gazette.

The EPFO paid 8.5 per cent interest rate to its subscribers in 2020-21, the same as in the previous year. The EPF rate was 8.65 per cent in 2018-19 and 8.55 per cent in 2017-18. In 2016-17, the EPF interest rate was at 8.65 per cent.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)