EPFO 3.0 Update: The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is preparing for the major reforms in the provident fund systems — EPFO 3.0. According to an Indian Express report citing a senior government
official, the upcoming overhaul will fundamentally change how crores of EPF members access services, including a new portal, new software at the backend, and the use of AI-powered language translation tools to communicate with members in vernacular languages.
What is EPFO 3.0?
EPFO 3.0 is being positioned as a full-scale transformation of the retirement fund body’s technology architecture, moving it closer to a core banking-style system, similar to what banks operate today.
“There will be a complete revamp under EPFO 3.0, new architecture, core banking solution at the backend. We will be able to cater in terms of scale, to all the organised and unorganised workers. It will take into account the increase in volumes. The entire system will change including the portal. As of now, incremental changes are happening, the next phase will take care of all future needs,” said the official, as cited by The Indian Express.
For members, this means centralised operations, allowing grievances and service requests to be resolved from any EPFO office in the country, regardless of where the account is registered.
Why EPFO Needs a Core Banking Solution
The move comes as EPFO’s role is set to expand significantly following the implementation of the Labour Codes. The retirement fund body is expected to cover not just organised sector employees but also unorganised workers at scale.
It is learnt that EPFO may also be entrusted with the administration of a social security fund for unorganised workers, which would be separate from the social security fund for gig and platform workers.
Currently, EPFO has nearly 8 crore active members and manages a corpus of around ₹28 lakh crore. A core banking solution is seen as critical to managing this scale efficiently in the future.
Vernacular Language Support Through AI
To improve accessibility, EPFO 3.0 will increasingly rely on AI-based translation tools to communicate with members in their native languages.
“We will use more vernacular tools like Bhashini to give information in the vernacular medium,” the official said.
Bhashini is an AI-powered language translation platform developed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and is expected to play a key role in member outreach.
New IT Platform: Tender to Be Floated Soon
EPFO is in the final stages of preparing a tender to appoint an agency that will implement, operate, and maintain the new IT platform for managing various social security schemes.
“The tender is broadly prepared, the financial vetting is underway. It will be floated soon,” the official said.
Earlier, in June last year, EPFO had floated an Expression of Interest (EOI) and shortlisted Wipro, Infosys and TCS.
Where EPFO 2.0 Stands Today
While EPFO 3.0 is being planned, the ongoing EPFO 2.0 reforms are nearing completion. The much-anticipated UPI-linked withdrawal facility is expected to be rolled out by April, with only three modules pending.
“In September, we rolled out a revamped ECR (electronic challan cum return), an internal user management module which does the internal task allocation. Now we are left with just three modules – pension, claim and overall annual accounts. Work is going on, it is a matter of 1-2 months,” the official said.
EPF Withdrawal via UPI: What Members Should Know
EPFO is working on enabling fund withdrawals through UPI using the BHIM app. The proposed system will display total EPF balance, eligible balance for withdrawal, and mandatory minimum 25% balance.
Internal discussions are converging towards capping withdrawals at ₹25,000 per transaction initially.
This follows the Board’s decision in October last year to liberalise withdrawal norms, reducing withdrawal categories from 13 to three – essential needs (illness, education, marriage), housing needs, and special circumstances.
The EPFO also introduced rules around maintaining a 25% minimum balance and allowing premature final settlement during unemployment under specified conditions.
Easier Profile Corrections Already in Place
As part of process simplification, EPFO has already enabled self-correction of personal details without employer verification. Members can now correct details such as name, date of birth, gender, nationality, parents’ names, marital status, spouse name, and dates of joining or leaving.
Between January and December 2025, around 32.23 lakh profile corrections were carried out under this facility.
The EPFO 3.0 aims to make provident fund services more bank-like, language-inclusive, faster, and scalable, a shift that could significantly improve ease of access for both existing members and the millions expected to be brought under the social security net in the coming years.
