Is prime minister's job generation scheme driving EPFO payroll data?

Unclear if beneficiaries under the scheme represent new jobs

There has been much debate over how accurately the monthly payroll statistics released by the employees’ provident fund organization (EPFO) capture job creation in the country.  

Data suggests that much of the addition to EPFO numbers over the past year or so is likely to have come from an increase in beneficiaries registered under the Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojna (PMRPY).  

Between September 2017 and September 2018, net EPFO payroll addition adds up to 7.9 million. In comparison, over the same period, the number of new beneficiaries added under PMRPY stood at 7.4 million. 

As beneficiaries under PMRPY have to be EPF subscribers,