The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) witnessed a net addition of 12.76 lakh subscribers in April 2021 amidst the abrupt upsurge in the COVID-19 cases. This is a 13.7% rise as compared to the new subscribers in the previous month.
Breaking things down, the number of exits from the organisation in April declined by 87,821 and re-joining increased by 92,864 cases as compared to March 2021. It is to be noted that the number of EPF subscribers often changes subject to several factors.
Out of the 12.76 lakh net subscribers, around 6.89 lakh subscribers have enrolled with EPFO for the first time. Also, around 5.86 lakh subscribers had previously exited and now have re-joined the retirement funds body. They have changed jobs within the circle of establishments covered by the EPFO.
According to the payroll data of subscribers, the share of new female subscribers during the month is 22% of the total net subscribers. However, the first-time female subscribers in March 2021 was 1.84 lakh, which increased to 1.90 lakh in April 2021.
Industry-wise analysis of payroll data indicates that the subscribers in the ‘expert services’ category constitute 45% of the total addition of subscribers in April 2021. The expert services mentioned above include private security agencies, small contractors, manpower agencies, and others.
When it comes to state-wise analysis, Maharashtra, Haryana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka are at the forefront in terms of EPF subscriptions during April. A total of 7.58 lakh subscribers are from these states, constituting around 43.35% of the total net subscribers for April 2021.
EPFO has been releasing the data on net total subscribers month-on-month since April 2018. The data from September 2017 is available for reference. The data generation has been a continuous process since and gets updated when an employee’s record is created in the internal systems.
For any clarifications/feedback on the topic, please contact the writer at apoorva.n@cleartax.in
