India Receives Global Recognition for Social Security Initiatives

New Delhi, Dec 5 (NationPress) India has been distinguished with the International Social Security Association (ISSA) Good Practice Award for Asia and Pacific 2024, presented by Dr Mohammed Azman, President of ISSA, at the Regional Social Security Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as announced by the Union Ministry for Labour and Employment on Thursday.

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) received five Certificates of Merit for various initiatives including Communication channels, E-proceedings: A case on the use of information and communication technology in justice delivery, Massive district outreach programme (Nidhi Aapke Nikat), Multilingual call centres, and the Prayaas initiative. These accolades were accepted by Ashok Kumar Singh, DG, ESIC on behalf of EPFO.

EPFO has embraced the ISSA Guidelines on Communication by Social Security Administrations and has implemented it by creating a communication framework document (CFD) aimed at effectively engaging with stakeholders. A combination of digital and non-digital communication strategies is being utilized for prompt and efficient outreach. Methods such as webinars, short message services (SMS), e-mails, social media, information education communication (IEC) videos, and camps under Nidhi Aapke Nikat 2.0 (a significant district outreach initiative) are employed to educate and connect with stakeholders.

In the E-proceedings case, EPFO has been ensuring regular compliance in a vital aspect of a contributory social security system. In this process, regulators conduct judicial proceedings to ascertain dues from defaulting employers. Previously, inquiries were conducted physically, resulting in delays and concerns over transparency. The inquiry process has transitioned to an online end-to-end system, ensuring fairness and transparency while also reducing the average inquiry time.

Nidhi Aapke Nikat 2.0 has facilitated the last-mile delivery of services. EPFO operates 139 Regional Offices and 117 District Offices across the country. However, there are over 500 districts lacking EPFO representation, which sometimes necessitates extensive travel for members to accomplish tasks such as online claim submissions and grievance resolutions. Nidhi Aapke Nikat 2.0 is conducted nationwide on the 27th of each month, providing immediate resolution of grievances.

Multilingual Call Centres have been instrumental in promoting inclusive grievance redressal. The vast geographical spread and diverse languages spoken across India present challenges in disseminating information about social security schemes under the Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1952. To tackle this, EPFO has made information accessible and free in 12 major regional languages, in alignment with the ISSA Guidelines on Service Quality. These call centres enhance grievance resolution and ensure member satisfaction by addressing queries in the member's preferred language.

Prayaas is yet another initiative by EPFO aimed at handing over pension payment orders (PPO) to retiring members of the Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995 on the day of their retirement. The number of PPOs issued under this initiative is consistently increasing.

EPFO also received a Special Mention for the Digital Life Certificate (Jeevan Pramaan Patra), underscoring EPFO's commitment to providing pensioners with digital convenience. The Digital Life Certificate, also known as the Jeevan Pramaan Certificate, is a facility that allows pensioners to file their Life Certificates through a biometric authentication system based on Aadhaar.

These accolades acknowledge EPFO's efforts to reform and adopt best practices in response to the evolving economic and social landscape. This international recognition is expected to motivate the EPFO team to work even harder for the benefit of its members, as stated by the Labour Ministry.