On December 3 2024, India was honored with the prestigious International Social Security Association (ISSA) Good Practice Award for Asia and Pacific 2024. The award was presented by Dr. Mohammed Azman, President of ISSA during the Regional Social Security Forum held from December 3 to 5, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) under the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoL&E) has received 5 Certificates of Merit (CoM) for its innovative and inclusive social security initiatives and Special Mention for its Digital Life Certificate (Jeevan Pramaan Patra).
- Ashok Kumar Singh, Director General (DG) of ESIC, on behalf of EPFO received these awards at the event.
Key Initiatives of EPFO:
i.Communication Channels: Enhancing Stakeholder Engagement: EPFO has adopted the ISSA Guidelines on Communication by Social Security Administrations by developing a comprehensive Communication Framework Document (CFD).
- This framework uses digital and non-digital platforms, including webinars, Short Messages Services (SMS), Electronic mail(emails), social media, and Information Education Communication (IEC) videos, camps under Nidhi Aapke Nikat 2.0, to effectively communicate with stakeholders and educate them about social security schemes.
ii.E-proceedings – A case on use of information and communication technology in justice delivery: EPFO has introduced E-proceedings to digitize judicial inquiries to ensure regular compliance, which is a crucial aspect of a contributory social security system.
- It is an end-to-end online inquiry process which ensures fairness, and improves transparency, in addition to reducing the average inquiry time.
iii.Nidhi Aapke Nikat 2.0 – Bringing Services Closer: EPFO started the Nidhi Apke Nikat 2.0 to ensure last-mile delivery of services for members, pensioners and employers, in remote districts of the country.
- It is held across the country on 27th of every month where grievances are resolved on the spot. Thus, ensuring the Government of India (GoI)’s policy of ease of doing business and ease of living.
iv.Multilingual Call Centres – Effort towards an inclusive grievance redressal: EPFO launched multilingual call centres which provides information accessible and free of charge in 12 regional languages. This initiative is in line with the ISSA Guidelines on Service Quality.
v.Prayaas-Prioritizing Pensioners: It is an EPFO led initiative which aims to handle Pension Payment Orders (PPO) of retiring members of the Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995 on the day of retirement itself.
vi.Digital Life Certificate (Jeevan Pramaan Patra): EPFO received a Special Mention for Digital Life Certificate or Jeevan Pramaan Patra, is an additional facility which enables the pensioners to file their Life Certificates through a biometric authentication system that is Aadhaar-based.
Recent Related News:
In November 2024, Union Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, MoL&E inaugurated an event to commemorate the 72nd Foundation Day of EPFO at the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi, Delhi.
- During the event, Union Minister presented Bhavishya Nidhi Awards 2024, to recognize exceptional contributions across various categories.
About International Social Security Association (ISSA):
President – Dr. Mohammed Azman
Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland
Founded – 1927
About Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO):
Central Provident Fund Commissioner (CPFC)-Ramesh Krishnamurthi
Headquarters- New Delhi, Delhi
Established- 1952
