The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Labour & Employment to raise the wage ceiling for mandatory coverage under the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 per month. The decision was announced on 16 September 2026.

At present, a new employee joining service on a monthly wage above ₹15,000 is not automatically covered under the EPF framework, and may remain outside provident fund, pension and insurance protection. With the ceiling raised to ₹25,000, employees in the ₹15,000–₹25,000 wage band will come within the statutory social security net. The measure is expected to bring more than 51 lakh additional employees under mandatory coverage nationwide.

Newly covered employees will get provident fund savings, pension under the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS) and insurance cover under the Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI), as per the applicable scheme provisions. The wage ceiling was last revised in September 2014, when it was raised to ₹15,000. The present revision brings the framework in line with the growth in wages and formal employment since then.

The proposal was recommended by the Expenditure Finance Committee on 16 June 2026. The annual Government outgo is estimated at about ₹11,339 crore, against the existing budgetary support of about ₹10,250 crore. The estimated expenditure over five years is about ₹56,696 crore. EPFO currently serves around 7.98 crore contributing members in about 7.68 lakh contributing establishments, and about 82 lakh pensioners under EPS. The Regional Office, Mysuru covers the districts of Mysuru, Mandya, Chamarajanagar and Kodagu, with about 5,059 contributing establishments and 3,06,252 contributing members.

Speaking on the decision, Shri Shadakshara Gopala Reddy, Regional Provident Fund Commissioner-I, Mysuru, said the measure will extend assured social security to a large number of workers in the four districts. He said it will also support formalisation, employee retention and long-term retirement security.

 

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