Mangaluru: The Kanara Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI), in association with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), regional office, Mangaluru, organised a stakeholder meeting on ‘EPFO Reforms and New Schemes’ at the KCCI Meeting Hall on Wednesday to discuss changes under the Code on Social Security and address queries from employers, HR professionals and consultants.KCCI president Divakar Pai Kochikar said, “From June 29 the old EPF pension and EDLI schemes have been replaced by new schemes under the Code on Social Security.” Noting that the frameworks date back to 1952, he added, “This is a big change for all of us.”Regional Provident Fund commissioner Sandeep Biswas said the Mangaluru office covers 7,759 establishments, including 3,637 contributing establishments, 10,20,262 total accounts, 2,57,066 contributing members and 1,17,744 pensioners across Dakshina Kannada. He said the EPF enrolment wage ceiling had been enhanced from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 per month, potentially bringing 51 lakh additional employees under social security.Biswas also outlined the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PM-VBRY), the VISHWAS Scheme 2026 and the Employees’ Enrolment Campaign, which ends on Oct 31. VISHWAS is a fully digital, one-time settlement initiative to resolve pending EPF damages and penalty disputes, encourage voluntary compliance and reduce litigation.Assistant Provident Fund commissioner Ankit Singh explained provisions of the EPF Scheme 2026, including auto-settlement of eligible advance claims up to Rs 5 lakh and face authentication through the UMANG app. Partial withdrawals require 12 months of membership, with at least 25% of the balance retained in the account. Under paragraph 46(3), members can make up to five withdrawals for housing purchases or construction, subject to their eligible balance.The meeting also highlighted enhanced Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) assurance benefits of up to Rs 7 lakh. Claim settlements require commissioner action within 20 days, failing which penal interest of 12% per annum applies.Jay Kumar, additional Central Provident Fund commissioner, Karnataka and Goa zone, stressed EPFO’s welfare mandate. “At the end of the day, as we refer to our Indian Constitution with its preamble, in EPFO also it is employees’ PF organisation. We are not an organisation of chambers, employers, or establishments; we exist for the employees,” he said. He urged participants to use the ‘Nidhi Aapke Nikat’ programme, held on the 27th of every month, and also portals like EPFiGMS and CPGRAMS for grievance redressal.
