NEW DELHI: The use of new technology is helping the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) settle claims faster apart from clearing backlog and depositing interest income into subscriber accounts quickly.The latest version of Centralised IT Enabled Services (CITES), which went live July 3, as well as the revamped rules, have resulted in auto-processing of 83% of the claims filed by subscribers, as against 70% earlier, a senior official told TOI. In fact, claims – which could be related to partial withdrawals for education or health reasons – can be processed on the same day, if filed in the morning.Tuesday, it processed a record 11 lakh claims, worth Rs 3,000 crore, helping clear a bulk of the backlog as the transition to the new centralised architecture which resulted in a blackout from June 24 until the system went live. The remaining 6-7 lakh cases are expected to be cleared by the end of the week, officials said.The new architecture allows service requests to be processed at an all-India level instead of being restricted to specific regional offices. Besides, simplified rules, and the centralised database allow members to know the exact amount that they can withdraw from their account.“Member services had improved, now subscriber services are also going to be smooth. EPFO badal raha hai (EPFO is changing),” said the official.Besides, the CITES 2.01 project has also enabled EPFO to credit 8.25% annual interest for the financial year 2025-26 to its nearly 34 crore members by Wednesday, significantly expediting the interest credit process.The automation is expected to leave more time for EPFO staff to process other issues, including settling pension cases where accounts belong to pre-UAN times.The modernised architecture enables faster claim disbursement with auto-settlement limit for advance claims also raised to Rs 5 lakh, interest paid till the day of final payment authorisation in case of final settlements and for automatic provident fund transfer facility for Aadhaar enabled UANs upon change of job, hence members will not be required to submit separate applications for the transfer.This will also help in disbursing money lying unclaimed in nearly 7 lakh small-balance inoperative accounts which have up to Rs 1,000, without requiring any claim application or paperwork from account holders. There are a total of 32 lakh inoperative accounts having Rs 10,900 crore.“Member grievances related to claims rejections are also going to come down as they undergo automated pre-validation prior to processing at EPFO offices and guidance will be provided online, leading to improvements in first time acceptance rates. This has been done to provide a smooth experience for members. It will give field offices more time to deal with other legacy issues, like in the case of members who joined EPFO in the pre-UAN era,” the official said.
