The decision, taken at a meeting of the central board of trustees (CBT) of EPFO, will result in a surplus of more than Rs 700 crore for the fund, labour minister Santosh Gangwar said.
The proposed rate is 15 basis points lower than 8.65% announced for 2018-19. The finance ministry will have to vet the interest rate of 8.5% agreed upon by CBT before it is notified by the labour ministry.
ET had reported on February 28 that the labour ministry was mulling a 15 basis point reduction in interest rate on provident fund deposits for 2019-20.
The rate of interest is slightly higher than 8.45% recommended by the Finance Investment & Audit Committee of EPFO, KE Raghunathan, a member of the audit panel, told ET.
The interest income of EPFO in the current year is pegged at Rs 58,500 crore in addition to a notional…
