India has been awarded the prestigious International Social Security Association (ISSA) Good Practice Award for Asia and the Pacific 2024. The award, presented by ISSA President Dr. Mohammed Azman, was conferred during the Regional Social Security Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Union Ministry for Labour and Employment announced on Thursday.
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) received five Certificates of Merit for initiatives including Communication Channels, E-Proceedings, the Nidhi Aapke Nikat district outreach programme, Multilingual Call Centres, and the Prayaas initiative. Ashok Kumar Singh, Director General of the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), accepted the awards on behalf of EPFO.
EPFO has aligned with ISSA’s guidelines on communication by preparing a Communication Framework Document (CFD) to enhance engagement with stakeholders. The organisation uses both digital and non-digital strategies, such as webinars, SMS and email alerts, social media outreach, IEC (Information, Education, and Communication) videos, and district outreach camps under Nidhi Aapke Nikat 2.0. These initiatives aim to educate and communicate effectively with stakeholders.
– E-Proceedings: EPFO transitioned its judicial proceedings from physical to fully online, reducing inquiry times and ensuring greater transparency and fairness. This reform addresses compliance issues in contributory social security systems by holding defaulting employers accountable in a more efficient and transparent manner.
– Nidhi Aapke Nikat 2.0: To address the absence of EPFO offices in over 500 districts, this programme ensures last-mile delivery of services. Held nationwide on the 27th of every month, the initiative resolves grievances on the spot, sparing members the need to travel long distances for claim submissions or grievance redressal.
– Multilingual Call Centres: Recognising India’s linguistic diversity, EPFO established call centres that provide information and grievance redressal in 12 regional languages. This initiative aligns with ISSA’s guidelines on service quality and ensures inclusive access to information about social security schemes.
– Prayaas: Under this initiative, pension payment orders (PPOs) are handed over to retiring members on their retirement day. The number of PPOs issued through Prayaas has been steadily increasing.
EPFO also received a Special Mention for its Digital Life Certificate initiative (Jeevan Pramaan Patra), which allows pensioners to submit life certificates digitally using Aadhaar-based biometric authentication. This initiative underscores EPFO’s commitment to providing ease of access and support for pensioners.
These accolades highlight EPFO’s dedication to reforming and adopting best practices in social security to meet evolving economic and social needs. The Labour Ministry expressed hope that this international recognition would further inspire EPFO to enhance its services for its members.
(Inputs from IANS)