Lok Sabha Question No. 3783 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-24
Subject: Collapsing Software System of EPFO
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Shri Mohmad Haneefa

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3783

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.03.2025

## COLLAPSING SOFTWARE SYSTEM OF EPFO

3783. SHRI MOHMAD HANEEFA:

Will  the  Minister  of  LABOUR  AND EMPLOYMENTbe pleased to state:

- (a)whether the Government is aware of the collapsing software system Fund Organization (EPFO), resulting in a sharp surge in pending claims
- and outdated servers of the Employees' Provident and grievances from the EPFO members;
- (b)if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  response  of  the  Government
- thereto;
- (c)whether the EPFO members face significant difficulties in accessing the portal and submitting their claims online;
- (d)whether  even  the  field  offices  of  the  EPFO  are  now  use  to experiencing slow or deadworking speed of the software, if so, the details thereof;
- (e)whether the situation is primarily due to low budget allocation for software development, lack of dedicated human resources and the absence of a clear IT policy; and
- (f)if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE)

(a) to (f): EPFO  has  undertaken  several  steps,  such  as  storage upgrade and addressing high load on specific database server ports and performance tuning etc., which has resulted in improvement of performance of IT systems.

During FY 2024-25, Software interventions have been made in  the  existing  Applications  for  ease  of  living  and  ease  of  doing been an improvement  in  speed  of  the  processing  of  various  transaction requests  of  the  members  like  claims  etc.  Further,  the  following business. As a result of these initiatives, there has simplifications in the claims processing have been made:

- i.   For  Auto  mode  processing  of  advance  claims,  the  amount  limit enhanced to Rupees One lakh and in addition to Illness / Hospitalization advances,  advances  for Housing,  Education and Marriage have also been enabled.
- ii. Over 196 Lakh claims have been auto settled since April 1st 2024 till Feb 15th 2025. Now 60% of advance claims processed are in auto mode.
- iii. Dispensing with mandatory upload of cheque leaf for claim filing in 2024-25, benefiting approx 30% of claimants.
- iv.  Certain  upfront  validations  deployed  to  guide  members  as  to eligibility /admissibility of claims to prevent filing of ineligible claims
- v.  A  Simplified  Joint  Declaration  process  was  launched  in  January 2025  to  enable  EPFO  members  to  self-update  or  self-correct  their profile in a more efficient and hassle-free manner subject to certain system-driven validations. As a result, only 4-5% Joint declarations are required to be processed & approved by Staff & officers at Regional Offices.
- vi. EPF members with fully compliant e-KYC EPF accounts can now file their  Online  Transfer  Claims  directly  with  EPFO  without  requiring approval of employer.

vii.  The  Centralized  Pension  Payments  System  (CPPS)  was  fully implemented in December 2024, ensuring centralised pension disbursal to over 69 lakh pensioners.

As  part  of  Centralized  IT  Enabled  System  (CITES  2.01). -  EPF,  EDLI  &  Pension, annual  EPF  accounting  &  payments)  are  being  redeveloped  with addition of new features & functionalities on a centralized database

'Field  Office  Application'  processes  (Claims with upgrade of hardware and OS as a part of the new EPFO 2.01.

Further,  as  part  of  EPFO  3.0,  stakeholder  consultations have been held for transforming EPFO into a future-ready, membercentric, and a technology-driven organization.

With reference to the fund availability, there is adequate software developments, upgrade of Infra including hardware, OS, database and provisioning in the budget for the maintenance, cyber security.

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