Top finance ministry sour-ces have ruled out any accommodation on the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) interest rate issue and have said the labour ministry will have no option but to cut interest rates, leading to the makings of a confrontation in the government.
In Kolkata over the weekend, Union Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma had reiterated yet again that he would not allow interest rates payable on EPF to drop below 9.5 per cent.
The finance ministry, however, says the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)will have no option but to take a 1 percentage point cut in the interest rate, because