NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, SEPT 28
The Labour Ministry on Monday said that UMANG mobile application has been a big hit among the EPF subscribers to access services, especially during COVID-19 pandemic.
Out of the 47.3 crore hits clocked by the app since August 2019, 41.6 crore or 88 percent of those were meant for the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) services, it added.
“The Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) has been a big hit among EPF subscribers enabling them to access services during COVID-19 pandemic from the comfort of their homes in a hassle-free manner,” a Labour Ministry statement said.
Adding to the 16 services already on the UMANG app, EPFO has now started another facility, enabling EPS (employees’ pension scheme) members to apply for a Scheme Certificate under Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995, according to the statement.
The Scheme certificate is issued to members who withdraw their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contribution but wish to retain their membership with the EPFO to avail pension benefits on the attainment of retirement age.
A member becomes eligible for pension only if he has been, cumulately, a member of the Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995 for at least 10 years.
Upon joining a new job, the Scheme Certificate ensures that previous pensionable service is added to pensionable service rendered with the new employer, thereby increasing the number of pension benefits.
Further, the Scheme Certificate is also useful for family members to avail family pension, in case of the untimely death of the eligible member.
The ease of applying for Scheme Certificate through the UMANG app will now help members avoid unnecessary hardship of physically applying for it, especially during the pandemic and will also eliminate unnecessary paperwork.
The facility will benefit over 5.89 crore subscribers. For availing the service on the UMANG app, an active Universal Account Number (UAN) and a mobile number registered with the EPFO is required.
By successfully bringing state-of-the-art technology to the doorstep of its subscribers, the EPFO has remained to be the most popular service provider on the app.
With India witnessing massive growth in digital connectivity through mobile phones, the EPFO is making more and more services digitally accessible to members even in remotest locations through the UMANG app, it added.
The app is developed by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and National e-Governance Division (NeGD) to drive mobile governance in India.
It provides a single platform for all Indian citizens to access pan India e-Gov services, ranging from the central to local government bodies and other citizen-centric services.
