EPF rate dropped to 8.5%

The central board of trustees of Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) today recommended an interest rate of 8.5%on deposits of over four crore subscribers for 2005-06. The interest rate was 9.5% in the last fiscal.

This was decided after a four-hour meeting of the trustees chaired by labour minister K Chandrashekhar Rao.

"There will be an additional requirement of about Rs 370 crore,  but there would be no burden on the exchequer. The burden would be on the labour ministry to find the additional resources," Rao said after the meeting today.