Good news for crores of EPFO members. The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has decided to push back the deadline for activating the Universal Account Number (UAN) and linking Aadhaar to bank accounts for all employees until February 15, 2025. This deadline has seen several extensions.
Originally, the cutoff was January 15, but it was moved to February 15 according to a circular issued on February 6. This extension applies to employees eligible for the Employee Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme, which provides benefits through direct bank transfers, provided their accounts are linked to Aadhaar.
So, the new deadline for linking Aadhaar to bank accounts is now February 15. The Indian government introduced the Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Schemes for first-time job seekers in 2024. To receive the subsidy under this scheme, it’s essential to enroll with EPFO and activate the UAN.
The first notice about this was released on November 22 of last year, setting an initial deadline of November 30. That circular emphasized that to ensure all eligible employees can take advantage of the employment-linked incentive scheme announced in the 2024-25 Budget, activating the UAN and linking Aadhaar to each employee’s bank account is crucial.
What do you need to do?
Every EPFO subscriber must have a UAN linked to their Aadhaar, which needs to be activated by logging into the member portal. This will allow access to various services through a single platform.
These services include viewing and downloading PF passbooks, submitting online claims for withdrawals, advances, or transfers, updating personal information, and tracking claim statuses in real time.To receive the subsidy under the first-time employment scheme, it is essential to enroll in EPFO and activate your UAN.