EPFO subscribers will now be capable of generate and activate Common Account Quantity (UAN) utilizing face authentication. Given the retirement fund physique has been dealing with points in lots of circumstances akin to non-availability of cellular variety of the subscriber within the EPF database and mismatch errors in private particulars regardless of Aadhaar linkage, the brand new course of can be making use of the Aadhaar-linked Face Authentication Know-how (FAT) to generate UAN utilizing the federal government’s UMANG utility.
“Each employers and workers can generate UAN by way of face activation now. This may be much like the expertise used within the Digi Yatra app. The picture will probably be matched with the Aadhaar database and after profitable matching with the database, the UAN will probably be despatched by SMS,” Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya mentioned.
This marks one other main simplification measure introduced by the of Staff’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) within the final fortnight. Final week, the EPFO had launched two key modifications — removing of requirement to add picture of cheque leaf / attested financial institution passbook, and casting off the necessity for employer approval for seeding checking account particulars with UAN.
Tips on how to conduct Aadhaar-based face authentication for UAN
Beneath the face authentication measure, EPFO will present service for allotment and activation of UAN for its subscribers. This may be a key step in direction of contactless, safe, and totally digital service supply for crores of members, the Labour and Employment Ministry mentioned.
Utilizing the EPFO’s UMANG utility, workers can straight generate UAN utilizing Aadhaar-linked face authentication. Any employer can even use the identical UMANG app to generate UAN utilizing the face authentication possibility for any new workers. Present members who have already got a UAN however haven’t but activated it may possibly additionally activate their UAN utilizing the UMANG app.
“Biometric authentication utilizing face authentication gives a better degree of safety in comparison with conventional strategies akin to demographic or OTP-based authentication. It ensures correct and tamper-proof id verification on the very entry level into the EPFO system. This safe verification may also pave the way in which for a variety of self-service choices for members, eliminating the necessity for employer or regional workplace intervention in lots of future companies,” the Ministry mentioned.
What’s the present course of for EPFO UAN activation
As of now, UANs are primarily generated by employers by submitting knowledge of workers (members) to EPFO. Although this knowledge is validated utilizing Aadhaar knowledge, many errors had been being made in different fields akin to father’s identify or cellular quantity, and so forth. Owing to those errors, many workers needed to replace their knowledge whereas submitting claims or for different advantages, the Ministry mentioned.
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The Ministry mentioned usually, cellular variety of members was not given or wrongly talked about by employers as a consequence of which EPFO couldn’t contact or attain out to members if required. In some circumstances, the UAN was not even given to the worker by the employer, it mentioned.
The method for UAN activation was additionally being made cumbersome because of the further requirement of UAN activation by way of Aadhaar OTP validation on the EPFO member portal.
The EPFO had given a number of reminders to employers to get workers to activate their UAN utilizing Aadhaar OTP, the Ministry mentioned. This may have aided the Ministry in its efforts to streamline the database for direct transfers beneath the proposed Employment-Linked Scheme.
Within the monetary 12 months 2024-25, 1.27 crore UANs had been allotted by EPFO. Nonetheless, solely 44,68,236 UANs or 35.3 per cent had been activated by the members in the course of the monetary 12 months 2024-25.
