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Over 4 crore <keyword id="6372438" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="EPFO">EPFO</keyword> subscribers may get a lower interest at a rate of 8.6 % on their<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=provident%20fund&amp;sortorder=score"> PF deposits </a>for current financial year as <keyword id="126926" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Labour-Ministry">Labour Ministry</keyword> is expected to toe the <keyword id="47209" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Finance-Ministry">Finance Ministry</keyword> line to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=provident%20fund&amp;sortorder=score">cut the rate</a>. 
 Employees Provident Fund Organisation (<keyword id="45027" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="EPF">EPF</keyword>O) had provided 8.8 % rate of interest on EPF deposits for 2015-16 despite <keyword id="25455" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="finance">Finance</keyword> Ministry's ratification for 8.7 %. 
 
"Finance Ministry has been nudging Labour Ministry to keep <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=provident%20fund&amp;sortorder=score">interest rate</a> on EPF in line with other small savings schemes administered by it. There is a broad consensus between the two ministries to fix 8.6 per cent interest for this fiscal," a source privy to the development told a news agency. 
 
The source further said that EPFO has not worked out the income projection for the current fiscal. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=provident%20fund&amp;sortorder=score">The Central Board of Trustees (CBT)</a>, EPFO's apex decision making body, takes a call on interest rate on the basis of income projection. 
 The <keyword id="6364382" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Board">Board</keyword> fixes the rate of interest for a financial year and it is approved by its advisory body Finance, Audit and Investment Committee (<keyword id="2599383" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="FAIC">FAIC</keyword>). 
 As per the practice, Finance Ministry gives concurrence to the rate of interest fixed by the <keyword id="207775" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="CBT">CBT</keyword> considering the income projections of a year. After its ratification, the interest rate is notified and credited into the accounts of subscribers. 
 
An official said, "Finance Ministry's concurrence is required to ensure that EPFO's payout does not exceed its income and the body meets the fund requirement from its own resources." 
 
"Finance Ministry wants to bring interest rate to 8.6 per cent for its small savings schemes like Public Provident Fund (PPF) in view of depleting yield of government securities and other saving instruments in the market." 
 
Trade unions have been of consistent view that Finance Ministry should not encroach on the decision of CBT as <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=provident%20fund&amp;sortorder=score">EPF</a> is workers' money and they get interest from the income earned on investments of their funds. 
 
In the last fiscal, EPFO was in a position to provide 8.95 % rate of interest on the basis of its income projection and it would have left Rs 100 crore surplus. 
 
However, the CBT chose to fix 8.8 % interest on EPF for last fiscal which was further reduced by Finance Ministry to 8.7 %. Facing stiff opposition from all corners, government accepted CBT's decision of 8.8 % interest on EPF for 2015-16. 
 
The EPFO had provided 8.75 % rate of interest in 2013-14 and 2014-15, which was higher than 8.5 % in 2012-13 and 8.25 % in 2011-12.

​ Your provident fund will yield 8.6% interest rate, .2% lower than last year

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is building a fleet capable of operations on the high seas.</li><li>Its new missile corvettes are the most heavily armed combatant ships in its fleet.</li></ul>In the last three years, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy has commissioned hundreds of new vessels. Most are newer variants of the missile, rocket, and heavy machine-gun-clad speedboats that have long formed the backbone of the IRGCN's fleet, but beginning in 2022, the IRGCN began commissioning new classes of warships capable of operating on the high seas.The vessels, four newly designed missile-armed catamaran corvettes and a container ship converted into an expeditionary sea base, bring new capabilities to the hardline force known for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fdd.org/iranmaritimeaggression/">carrying out dangerous missions</a> like attaching mines to ship hulls and hijacking merchant ships, giving Iran options to keep adversaries with advanced navies and air forces like Saudi Arabia and the US off-balance.The largest ships ever to be commissioned into its service, the vessels enable the IRGCN to operate major surface combatants with long-range anti-ship and anti-air weapons, and also helps the historically littoral force to pursue a new mission only recently given to it: to project power into the high seas via expeditionary operations.With a fourth catamaran missile corvette on the way and another container ship <a target="_blank" href="https://en.mehrnews.com/news/197748/Shahid-Bagheri-UAVs-carrier-to-be-unveiled-in-near-future">being converted into a drone carrier</a>, the IRGCN's future fleet is gaining the larger ships and firepower needed to confront its adversaries beyond the Persian Gulf.<div type="image" title="The Shahid Hassan Bagheri is one of three new missile corvettes that are the most heavily armed warships in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy's fleet." height="1323" width="2000" msid="111485060" hostid="261" sizebytes="135322"></div><h2 id="c274a839-af2a-45a5-8780-d1e46e1883f2">Catamaran missile corvettes</h2>Founded in 1985, the IRGCN is the naval branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a paramilitary organization that operates as the ideological steward of Iran's revolution separate from the national military and which answers directly to Tehran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Numbering around 25,000 personnel, in 2007, the IRGCN was tasked with the security of the Persian Gulf, while Iran's national navy was given responsibility for the waters of the inland Caspian Sea, the Gulf of Oman, and beyond. Responsibility for the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth that dog-legs into the Persian Gulf, is shared between the two forces.Since its inception, the IRGCN has employed an asymmetric doctrine that utilizes swarm and guerilla tactics with an emphasis on numbers, speed, mobility, and geographical advantages. They are known for provocative tactics that harass and threaten US Navy warships and civilian merchant vessels.Operating in conjunction with Iran's land-based missiles and aircraft, the IRGCN can mount rapid sea assaults that exploit the islands and contours of Iran's coast. They rely extensively on hundreds of smaller vessels, namely fast attack craft (FAC) and fast inshore attack craft (FAIC) like those of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iran/hudong.htm">Tondar</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iran/peykaap-pics.htm">Peykaap</a>-classes which are armed with heavy machine guns, rockets, anti-ship missiles, and torpedoes to swarm enemy warships that may also be under attack from loitering munitions.On September 5, 2022, the IRGCN diverged from its usual procurement practices when it commissioned the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2023/december/irans-first-vls-missile-catamaran">Shahid Soleimani</a>, the lead ship of a new class of corvettes named after the leader of the IRGC's elite <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-administrations-shifting-explanations-for-soleimani-killing-2020-1">Quds Force</a> who was killed in a US drone strike in 2020. At 213 feet long, 47 feet wide, and displacing an estimated 600 tons, it is one of the largest surface combatants the IRGCN has ever adopted.The class utilizes a unique twin-hulled catamaran design. The design offers increased speed and stability at the expense of volume to carry more fuel or armaments. Though rare for frontline warships, some major navies do possess catamaran corvettes, including China, Russia, Taiwan, and Norway.The IRGCN itself has been operating a single catamaran called the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iran/harth-55.htm">Shahid Nazeri</a> since 2016. Despite being lightly armed, it has a record of harassing US vessels and civilian ships in the Persian Gulf.But while Shahid Nazeri has few armaments, the Soleimani-class corvettes are the most heavily armed vessels in the IRGCN fleet, with an armament of 28 missiles, four 23mm Gatling guns (two in front of the bridge and two amidships), and one 30mm auto-cannon at the bow. Their formidable missile armaments are designed to threaten ships and aircraft.Twenty-two of the missiles are stored in vertical launch systems (VLS), making the Soleimanis the first vessels in Iranian service with vertical launch capability. Believed to all house surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), they are arranged in two groups of eleven cells (eight small and three large) on the port and starboard sides just behind the bridge.The six large cells are believed to house medium-range SAMs with a range of 92 miles each, while the sixteen small cells are believed to house short-range SAMs. Six box launchers amidships (three on each side) house anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs); likely four long-range ASCMs like the Ghadir or Noor, with ranges of 184 and 74 miles, respectively, and two short-range ASCMs like the Nasr, which has a range of 21 miles.A helicopter deck is located just behind the box launchers and mast. Below it is a hangar reportedly large enough for three IRGCN FIACs; these fast inshore attack boats can be lowered into the water and picked up by an internal crane.Made out of aluminum, Iranian officials have said that the ships have a range of 5,500 nautical miles. They have also said that the catamaran layout provides stability in rough seas and reduces the ships' radar cross-sections, making them harder to detect and track.Three Soleimani-class corvettes, Shahid Soleimani, Shahid Hassan Bagheri, and Shahid Sayyad Shirazi, have been commissioned, while a fourth, Shahid Ra'is-Ali Delvari, is under construction. One month before the Hassan Bagheri and Sayyad Sirazi's commissioning last February, the IRGCN commissioned a new type of catamaran corvette, the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.hisutton.com/Iran-IRGC-Abu-Mahdi-Class.html">Shahid Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis</a>.At 157 feet long, 39 feet wide, and displacing around 300 tons, it is smaller than the Shahid Soleimani-class and vastly different in appearance; it has no internal hangar capable of holding FAICs, no VLS cells, and the landing deck behind the bridge appears to be too small for helicopters, likely meaning it is intended for drones.Its armament consists of 14 missiles; six ASCMs stored in box launchers at the stern and eight more ASCMs in two quad-tubed launchers on the port and starboard sides. It is also equipped with four 23mm Gatling guns and one 30mm auto-cannon.Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, the commander of the IRGCN, described the Shahid Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis as an "invisible boat" because of its catamaran design, and said it had a range of 2,300 miles. <h2 id="847ddf3b-1714-41d3-83b8-40af97f05a77">Converted container ships</h2>Though the newest, the catamaran corvettes are not the first sea-faring vessels the IRGCN has operated. The service has unofficially operated the cargo ships <a target="_blank" href="https://news.usni.org/2020/10/26/iranian-spy-ship-commands-strategic-position-on-vital-oil-route">MV Saviz</a> and the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ft.com/content/5fb8849c-b5b2-4f6f-908f-2c125159e3ce">MV Behshad</a> which, although officially registered as civilian vessels, are used as forward base and command ships to coordinate support for Houthi rebels in Yemen and to gather intelligence. The IRGC <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-middle-east-e4bde7250333a85445fe9a9f0f1c64a8">smuggles weapons</a> to the Houthis and train them on their use.In 2020, the IRGCN commissioned its first official sea-going vessel, the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.hisutton.com/Iranian-IRGC-Forward-Base-Shahid-Roudaki.html">Shahid Roudaki</a>. A converted roll-on/roll-off ship, the Shahid Roudaki is capable of carrying FAICs, drones, and military vehicles, and has space for a helicopter on its deck. It is armed with four ASCM box launchers and is believed to play an intelligence-gathering and support role.Roudaki was briefly the largest ship in the IRGCN fleet until March 2023, when the Guard commissioned the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iran/irgcn-shahd-mahdavi.htm">Shahid Mahdavi</a>, a converted container ship formerly known as Sarvin.At 787 feet long and 105 feet wide, Mahdavi's role is that of an expeditionary sea base and support/mothership. Equipped with a phased array radar and capable of carrying two helicopters, drones, loitering munitions like the Shahed-136, and FAICs, Mahdavi can also be used as a base from which IRGCN special forces can be inserted, and act as an intelligence-gathering vessel.It is often compared to the US Navy's Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary mobile bases, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uss-lewis-puller-tanker-like-warship-floating-navy-seal-base-2024-1">lead ship of which</a> has spent ample time in the Persian Gulf in view of Iranian forces.Iran's navy has a similar vessel, the IRINS Makran, a forward base ship converted from an oil tanker. Commissioned in 2021, it has conducted multiple long-range voyages, including one that saw it circumnavigate the globe.Mahdavi made international headlines in February when it launched two ballistic missiles from shipping containers placed on its deck as part of the Great Prophet 18 military exercise. Fired from the Gulf of Oman, the missiles were <a target="_blank" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/13/irans-irgc-makes-naval-show-of-force-as-gaza-war-rages">reported</a> to have successfully hit mock targets in a desert in central Iran, demonstrating an at-sea launch capability for Iran's ballistic missiles.The ship again made headlines in May when it sailed into the Southern Hemisphere, proving definitively that the IRGCN's reach <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/dopaminedealers/status/1791845756824936655">now extends to the high seas</a>.Mahdavi will eventually be joined by another converted container ship, the Shahid Bagheri. Formerly known as the Perarin, the vessel has been undergoing conversion into a drone carrier for the IRGCN since 2021.Measuring 787 feet long, the ship's width has been increased slightly with the <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/mhmiranusa/status/1607045992557281282">addition of a cantilever deck</a> on its port side. In 2023, a <a target="_blank" href="http://www.hisutton.com/Iran-IRGC-Drone-Carrier-Update-04-2023.html">ski-jump ramp was fitted</a> to the bow at an angle toward the starboard side in line with the cantilever deck, suggesting that wheeled drones will take off and land by avoiding the ship's towering superstructure that houses the bridge.The makeup of Bagheri's future unmanned air wing remains a matter of speculation, and could include Shahed 171 and 191s (which are reverse-engineered Iranian copies of a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/1209/Downed-US-drone-How-Iran-caught-the-beast">captured</a> American RQ-170 Sentinel), or Mohajer-6 and Shahed 129 drones, all of which can reportedly be used as reconnaissance and strike platforms.The Bagheri's flight deck measures about 590 feet. The main recovery method for the drones will likely be an arrestor net or cable system of some type, though drones with short takeoff and landing ability may be able to conventionally land in calm seas.Like the Mahdavi, Bagheri could also be used as a launch platform for loitering munitions like one-way attack drones. In addition, Rear Adm. Tangsiri has said that Bagheri will be able to store 30 FAICs below its deck.<div type="image" title="The IRGCN's new warships come with a mandate to expand well beyond the speedboat and fast attack operations that have characterized much of its operations in the Persian Gulf." height="1330" width="2000" msid="111485309" hostid="261" sizebytes="178706"></div><h2 id="0b86703b-52ab-4f58-8648-98f2dde650ab">An expanded mission</h2>Altogether, the ships represent radical upgrades for the IRGCN — upgrades that the force has desperately wanted.Though its asymmetric tactics and assets have successfully <a target="_blank" href="https://www.voanews.com/a/middle-east_iran-shoots-down-us-drone/6170355.html">shot down</a> an American drone, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/iranian-ships-tried-seize-oil-tanker-opened-fire-us-navy-2023-7">damaged</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-iran-attack-boats-swarm-oil-tanker-latest-maritime-seizure-2023-5">seized</a> merchant ships, and taken American and British naval personnel prisoners, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/operation-praying-mantis-shows-destruction-of-potential-us-iran-war-2021-4">last major combat engagement the IRGCN fought</a> was a humiliating defeat for Iran, due in large part to hostile missile-equipped surface combatants and airpower.Now sailing with large surface combatants armed with anti-air and anti-ship missiles, as well as new FIACs with better anti-ship and anti-air capabilities, the IRGCN poses a greater threat than it did in the 1980s."They know they are going on missions that require defense against aerial threats as well as surface threats, so they have to be prepared to defend against those threats by themselves," Farzin Nadimi, a senior defense fellow with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy told Insider.But the IRGCN's new ships are not just intended for protecting the Persian Gulf — they are also for helping the IRGCN in its new mission: Projecting its power into the high seas.Previously a mission reserved for Iran's national navy, this expansion of duty was <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.com/persian/iran-53138431">ordered by Ayatollah Khamenei himself in 2020</a>. Though no direct reason has been given for the change, Iranian officials often talk about how the ships will better secure Iran's maritime interests."In general, they have portrayed their new mission as protecting the safety and security of Iran's vital maritime routes," Nadimi said.But it's more likely that the IRGCN needs high-seas capability to better support the IRGC's goal of furthering Iran's strategic interests. Iran is a rival to Israel and Saudi Arabia and arms groups across the region like Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and the Houthis in Yemen.While Iran's navy is involved in anti-piracy missions and international voyages to show its flag, it is the IRGC that is responsible for supporting Iran's proxy groups abroad. The Guard is also the frontline force for Iran's efforts in Syria.In the event that its allies need supplies, the new catamaran corvettes "would be able to escort Iranian ships, tankers, or cargo ships that carry important cargoes," Nadimi said. The Mahdavi and Bagheri, converted container ships themselves, could even carry the cargo and deliver it directly.And while the MV Saviz and MV Behshad have likely been unofficially aiding the Houthis, the fact that they are not officially Iranian military vessels exposes them to the possibility of being attacked in gray zone operations, as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-state-tv-acknowledges-ship-attacked-in-red-sea-in-hit-attributed-to-israel/">happened to Saviz in 2021</a>, when a suspected Israeli limpet mine attack crippled it, causing it to be towed back to Iran.The IRGCN's new ships, by contrast, are official vessels of the regime. "By law they are sovereign territory of Iran," Nadimi said. "They have the threat of serious escalation behind them if Israel directly attacks them."The ships can also serve Iran's possible tactical goals as well. As a mobile sea-based ballistic missile launch platform with a long range, the Mahdavi poses a particularly potent threat. An IRGCN surface group made up of the Soleimanis, Madhavi, and Bagheri may even be able to pose a threat to US bombers based in Diego Garcia, an island in the middle of the Indian Ocean.If tensions in the region continue to escalate into a direct conflict with Israel, these ships could pose a big enough threat that they could become high-priority targets for Israeli submarines operating in the Red and Arabian seas.With Bagheri finishing construction and a fourth Soleimani-class catamaran being built, the IRGCN's fleet is only expected to get larger as it embraces its new high-seas mission."Our oceangoing warships can be present in every location across the world, and when we can fire missiles from them, there is accordingly no safe spot for anyone intending to create insecurity for us," Tangsiri <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2024/02/13/3038628/irgc-warship-fires-long-range-ballistic-missile">said</a> after the successful missile launches from Mahdavi.Benjamin Brimelow is a freelance journalist covering international military and defense issues. He holds a master's degree in Global Affairs with a concentration in international security from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. His work has appeared in Business Insider and the Modern War Institute at West Point.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps gets powerful ships to confront adversaries well beyond the Persian Gulf 

Retirement fund body <keyword id="6372438" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="epfo" source="Orion">EPFO</keyword> is likely to approve this month a proposal to enhance its investments in equites to up to 20 per cent of the investible deposits from the current limit of 15 per cent. The proposal is expected to be considered and approved during the EPFO trustees' meeting scheduled to be held on July 29 and 30, according to a source. At present, EPFO can investment 5 to 15 per cent of the investible deposits in equity or equity-related schemes. The proposal to revise the limit to 20 per cent has been vetted and approved by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's (EPFO) advisory body Finance Audit and Investment Committee (FAIC). The recommendation of FAIC will be placed before the EPFO apex decision making body -- <keyword id="225704" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="central-board-of-trustees" source="Orion">Central Board of Trustees</keyword> (<keyword id="207775" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="cbt" source="Orion">CBT</keyword>) -- for consideration and approval. "The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) headed by Union Labour Minister is likely to approve the recommendation of the FAIC for increasing the investment in equity and equity related scheme to 5-20 per cent from existing 5-15 per cent," the source said. In a written reply to Lok Sabha on Monday, Minister of State for Labour and Employment Rameshwar Teli said, "FIAC, a sub-committee of CBT, <keyword id="45027" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="epf" source="Orion">EPF</keyword>, has recommended for the proposal to increase investment in equity and related investments in category IV of the Pattern of Investment from 5-15 per cent to 5-20 per cent for consideration of CBT, EPF." EPFO had started investing in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) in August 2015, putting 5 per cent of its investible deposits in stock-linked products. It was raised to 15 per cent for the current fiscal. Trade unions have been opposing any investment in stock markets by EPFO as these are not backed by government guarantee. In the written reply, Teli also said the notional return on EPFO equity-related investments rose 16.27 per cent in 2021-22 from 14.67 per cent in 2020-21. The reply also showed that the notional rate of return on equity related investment of the the EPFO was in negative at (-) 8.29 per cent in 2019-20 due to the impact of COVID-19. In 2021-22, the minister said EPFO settled 2,88,15,498 claims for withdrawal of Rs 1,04,959.18 crore by the subscribers. EPFO had settled 2,33,90,550 claims for withdrawal of Rs 91,187.54 crore in 2020-21. The withdrawal amount was Rs 70,202.34 crore in 2019-20 under 1,28,77,354 claims settled by the EPFO. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/rbi-seeks-a-crypto-ban-but-it-needs-global-collaboration-says-nirmala-sitharaman/articleshow/92954958.cms">RBI seeks a crypto ban but it needs global collaboration, says Nirmala Sitharaman</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/nifty-50-remains-the-top-performer-in-asia-despite-tussle-between-bulls-and-bears/articleshow/92952677.cms">Nifty 50 remains the top performer in Asia despite tussle between bulls and bears</a>

Retirement fund body EPFO could increase its equity investment limit to 20% from 15% earlier

Retirement fund body <keyword id="6372438" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="EPFO">EPFO</keyword> may provide 9 per cent interest on PF deposits for this fiscal, which is higher compared to 8.75 per cent provided in previous two fiscals to its over five crore subscribers.

	“The income projection of Rs. 34,844.42 crore for the current fiscal is expected to be revised upward. Thus the body can provide 9 per cent rate of interest on PF deposits for 2015-16,” an EPFO trustee and Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh Secretary PJ Banasure told PTI.

	The Employees Provident Fund Organisation’s (EPFO) Finance Audit and Investment committee (FAIC) recommended 8.95 per cent interest on PF deposits for the current fiscal at its meeting earlier this week.
 Banasure, who is also a member of FAIC said: “If the EPFO provides 8.95 per cent <keyword id="37018" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="interest-rate">interest rate</keyword> on PF deposits for 2015—16, it will leave a surplus of Rs. 91 crore as per income projections worked out in September last year. But the FAIC will meet again later this month to vet the latest income estimate which is likely to be revised upward.”

	According to EPFO income projections worked out in September, providing 9 per cent interest on PF will result in a deficit of Rs. 100 crore.

	“We are expecting that there will be a surplus of Rs. 100 crore on providing 9 per cent rate of interest on PF deposits when EPFO will work out the latest estimates. FAIC can change its recommendation in the next meeting and suggest 9 per cent interest rate for 2015—16,” he said.
 The proposal has to be endorsed by the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) before the <keyword id="47209" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Finance-Ministry">Finance Ministry</keyword> notifies it.
 However, there have been indications from the Finance Ministry that it will slash interest rate on small <keyword id="25450" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="savings">savings</keyword> like public provident fund in view of the rate cut by Reserve Bank of India.
 The EPFO provides rate of interest from the earning on <keyword id="6362476" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="investments">investments</keyword> of formal sector workers’ funds without any assistance from the government.

	“If EPFO provides rate of interest from its own income and there is no deficit then I don’t think that Finance Ministry should have any problem with that,” All India Trade Union Congress Secretary DL Sachdev said. 
	 
	(Image credits: BCCL)

EPFO may pay 9% interest on PF deposits for 2015-16

Employee Provident Fund Organisation (<keyword id="6372438" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="EPFO">EPFO</keyword>), India’s <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Your-PF-will-now-earn-interest-even-if-your-employer-has-stopped-contributing-to-it/articleshow/51599478.cms">retirement fund</a> body, might be doubling its investment proportion in exchange traded funds (ETFs) to 10% its investment, a move which can shoot up friction with trade unions. 
 
EPFO's finance audit and investment committee (FAIC) set up a panel that suggested doubling the proportion of its investment in ETFs so that it can do a meaningful contribution to the overall portfolio return of the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Low-cost-housing-scheme-for-EPFO-subscribers-soon/articleshow/52194557.cms">EPFO</a>, and a final decision could be taken in EPFO's central board of trustees (CBT) meeting today. 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/PF-money-for-government-flagship-programmes/articleshow/52725007.cms">If you don’t claim your PF now, it could end up in government’s kitty</a> 
 
Till now, EPFO invested 5% of its investible deposits in ETFs even as labour unions opposed it, and now, as the investment is planned to be doubled, the unions are definitely not going to accept it silently. 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Defer-withdrawal-for-two-years-and-get-8-16-extra-benefit-from-EPFO/articleshow/52881298.cms">Defer withdrawal for two years and get 8.16% extra benefit from EPFO</a> 
 "As per the agenda, the labour ministry will update us on the EPFO's investment in equity as well as place before us the report of the expert group. However, unions will continue to oppose any such investment," DL Sachdev from All India Trade Union Congress (<keyword id="6357806" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="AITUC">AITUC</keyword>), and a member of CBT told <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/personal-finance-news/epfo-likely-to-raise-equity-investment-to-10/articleshow/53366787.cms">ET</a>. 
 
<a href="http://www.adamsaccounting.com.au/photos/Investment1.jpg">Image source</a>

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Your provident fund will yield 8.6% interest rate, .2% lower than last year

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Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps gets powerful ships to confront adversaries well beyond the Persian Gulf

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Retirement fund body EPFO could increase its equity investment limit to 20% from 15% earlier

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EPFO may pay 9% interest on PF deposits for 2015-16

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EPFO might raise ETF investment to 10%

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You Searched For "FAIC" and got 5 results

​ Your provident fund will yield 8.6% interest rate, .2% lower than last year

BI India Bureau

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps gets powerful ships to confront adversaries well beyond the Persian Gulf

Benjamin Brimelow

Retirement fund body EPFO could increase its equity investment limit to 20% from 15% earlier

PTI

EPFO may pay 9% interest on PF deposits for 2015-16

BI India Bureau

EPFO might raise ETF investment to 10%

BI India Bureau

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Your provident fund will yield 8.6% interest rate, .2% lower than last year