With new EPF enrolments decreasing, employment stories take a hit
Data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation shows that over the last two financial years (2018-19 to 2019-20, 2019-20 to 2020-21), the enrolments to the EPF have been decreasing by massive numbers, and going by the numbers so far for 2021-22, would decrease further, putting paid to the Modi government’s tall claims on employment generation.
The Narendra Modi government’s big fat claims on employment have received yet another jolt as the number of new enrolments in the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) have steadily decreased between the 2018-19 and 2020-21 fiscals.
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation put forward the numbers in its report, which covers the period between September 2017 and July 2021. It can be seen that 1,39,44,349 people were added to the EPF in the financial year (FY) 2018-19.
This decreased to 1,10,40,683 in FY 2019-20 and plummeted even further to 85,48,898 enrolments in FY 2020-21. Thus, the number of new enrolments decreased by approximately 29,000 from 2018-19 to 2019-20 by approximately 25,000 from 2019-20 to 2020-21.
The same report also says that in April 2021, 7,75,795 people got enrolled in the EPF, which decreased just the following month, dropping to 6,28,806. In all, a total of 4,51,49,604 people have got enrolled so far in FY 2021-22.
The diminishing rate of employment in India will surely take a toll on Narendra Modi’s popularity as he came to power riding on a wave, promising the people 2 crore jobs per year.
