PF interest rate hiked to 8.8% for 2015-16 from existing 8.75%

PF interest rate hiked to 8.8% for 2015-16 from existing 8.75%

The employees’ provident fund will earn a higher interest rate of 8.8% for 2015-16, marginally up from the existing 8.75%.

There has been demand to hike the PF interest rate to 8.90%.

Union Labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya said the hike is an ‘interim one’ and indicated that it could be further revised later.

There is global slowdown and interest rates in India are also coming down, the minister said, adding that the Reserve Bank of India and other central government organisations are monitoring the market trends.

“We had last time given 8.75% and this time, seeing the situation, we are declaring 8.8% for the workers,” he told reporters after chairing the 211th meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).

While trade unions had demanded that the interest rate be fixed at 8.90%, the government had revised it to 8.80%, he said, underlining the Centre’s commitment to the working class.

“That is our motto. We don’t want to have a backward outlook. We want a forward outlook. We want to safeguard the workers’ interest. We want to give a real and purposeful picture before the workers and that is why a long debate took place today,” he said.

On trade unions’ demand for 8.9% interest rate, he said, if that was implemented, the ‘surplus’ the government will have would be Rs 285 crore. And in the case of 8.8%, the surplus will be Rs 673 crore, he explained.