There is no proposal for introduction of Public Provident Fund (PPF) Scheme for unorganised sector.
At present, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation has a total of 258 offices in the country including the State of Bihar.
Subject to the provisions contained in section 16, the Employees’ Provident Funds & Miscellaneous Provisions Act., 1952 applies to scheduled establishments employing 20 or more persons. The establishments which are not coverable statutorily could be covered on voluntary basis if a majority of the employees and employer are willing. For the purpose of coverage, there is no criterion whether the establishment falls under organized or unorganised sector. Hence, no separate details of the number of unorganised sector workers covered under the Employees’ Provident Funds Scheme, 1952 is maintained by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation. The total number of workers (including unorganized sector workers) in 6,60,546 establishments with 6,15,88,670 members are enrolled as Employees’ Provident Fund beneficiaries.
This information was given by the Minister of Labour and Employment Shri Mallikarjun Kharge in reply in reply to a written question in the Lok Sabha today.
