SC asks Centre to consider revising wage ceiling for EPFO Scheme

— EPFO WAGE CEILING UNCHANGED AT RS 15,000 PER MONTH FOR 11YEARS—

- MPOST BUREAU

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to consider taking a decision within four months on revising the wage ceiling under the Employees Provident Fund Scheme, which has remained unchanged for the past 11 years.

A bench comprising Justices J K Maheshwari and A S Chandurkar passed the order while hearing a petition filed by activist Naveen Prakash Nautiyal. The plea raised concerns that the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation currently excludes employees earning more than Rs 15,000 per month from mandatory coverage, despite the scheme being intended as a key social security measure for organised sector workers.

Appearing for the petitioner, advocates Pranav Sachdeva and Neha Rathi told the court that the wage ceiling has not been revised for over a decade, even though minimum wages notified by the central government and several states are now higher than the existing EPFO limit of Rs 15,000 per month. Sachdeva submitted that this gap has deprived a large section of workers of provident fund benefits and statutory protection under the scheme.