EPF may park 5% corpus in bonds
Financial Express, 14-11-07

In an effort to pay higher returns to its subscribers, the employee provident fund (EPF) board is looking at other options apart from investing 5% of the fund’s corpus money in stock Markets.
"Since board members, including those belonging to Leftist trade unions, do not agree to such an investment in view of volatility in the stock market, we are try to find out other safer options like bonds," said Oscar Fernandes, union labour minister.
Ahead of the meeting of EPF Central Board of Trustees to finalise the interest rate for 2007-08, Fernandes said that the option to make investment in the capital market was still open.

Replying to questions at a meeting of Economic Editors, the minister said he had discussed the matter informally twice with the Board members and would take up the issue once again with them to evolve a consensus.
The over four-crore EPF subscribers are presently getting 8.5% interest despite a strong demand by Left Parties to raise the rate to 9.5%.

Also, the union labour ministry has recommended an increase in minimum wage to Rs 80 from Rs 66 at present and has requested all state government to fix the minimum wage above the level.
He also said the efforts were underway to make labour market flexible while keeping in mind stability and security needs of workers.

Amendments in the Contract Labour Act and Industrial Disputes Act were under consideration, he said. Fernandes said the Bill to provide adequate safeguard to women during night shift was before Parliament, while another Bill to enhance maternity benefits was being examined by a standing committee of Parliament.

He also said that it was proposed to cover teachers in educational institutions under the Payment of Gratuity Act.
Referring to skill development and vocational training, he said while 100 government ITIs have been upgraded as 'Centres of Excellence' with domestic funding, 400 more such ITIs would be upgraded through World Bank assistance.
Fernandes said a task force has been constituted by the Planning Commission to go into the Labour Ministry's proposal for setting up a National Mission for Vocational Education.