EPFO adds 1.39 crore net members during FY 2022-23
Author: BI Bureau
New Delhi: The EPFO has added 13.40 lakh net members in March-2023, while during the financial year 2022-23, around 1.39 crore net members have been added with an increase of 13.22 per cent as compared to the previous financial year 2021-22, as per the provisional payroll data of EPFO released on May 20.
Out of 13.40 lakh members added during the month, around 7.58 lakh new members have come under the ambit of EPFO for the first time. Among the newly joined members, the highest enrolment is registered in the age-group of 18-21 years with 2.35 lakh members, followed by the age-group of 22-25 years with 1.94 lakh members.
The age-groups of 18-25 years constitute 56.60 per cent of total new members added during the month. This age-wise comparison of payroll data indicates that the majority of the members joining the organised sector workforce of the country are first-time job seekers.
The data also highlights that approximately 10.09 lakh members re-joined EPFO membership. These members switched their jobs and re-joined the establishments covered under EPFO and opted to transfer their accumulations instead of applying for final settlement thus, extending their social security protection.
The state-wise payroll figures highlight that month-on-month growing trend in net member addition is reflected in the states of Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, etc. In terms of net member addition, the top five states are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Haryana and Gujarat.
These states together constitute 58.68 per cent of net member addition during the month. Of all the states, Maharashtra is leading by adding 20.63 per cent of net members followed by the state of Tamil Nadu with 10.83 per cent during the month. /BI/
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The exports of agricultural commodities from March to June 2020 shot up by 23.24 percent on-year to Rs 25,552.7 crores.
As the economy comes to a standstill amid the coronavirus-led lockdown, India’s agriculture sector has taken the baton of economic growth in its hands. The exports of agricultural commodities from March to June 2020 shot up by 23.24 percent on-year to Rs 25,552.7 crores, according to the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. The government said that self-reliant agriculture is critical for the goal of an Atmanirbhar Bharat and for this, agricultural export is extremely important as besides earning foreign exchange for the country, the exports help farmers, producers, and exporters to take advantage of the wider international market and increase their income.
The surge in exports has also resulted in increased production in the farm sector by increasing coverage area and productivity. The share of India’s agricultural exports and imports in the world agriculture trade in 2017 was 2.27 percent and 1.90 percent, respectively. Even during the difficult time of pandemic lockdown, India took care not to disturb the world food supply chain and continued to export, the government said.
Ministry of Agriculture has prepared a comprehensive action plan for the promotion of Agri trade; the twofold approach focuses on boosting Agri Export with emphasis on value addition and action plan for Import Substitution. Recently, the Agriculture sector has witnessed a series of reforms, giving more choices to the farmers to sell their produce at competitive rates.
To mention a few, the Export strategy focuses on the export promotion of fast-evolving niche markets of Wellness food/ Health-conscious food/nutraceuticals, Development of “Brand India” in campaign mode to help penetration into new foreign markets and of new products which automatically translates into higher value realization, Gulf countries have been identified as focus destination to increase the market share which is a strong market for India though presently India caters to only 10-12% share of their total imports. A product-market matrix has been made containing a list of products of strength that could be expanded in new geographies and a list of known markets which can be introduced with newer products.
At the behest of the Department of Agricultural Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture, product-specific Export Promotion Forums have been created to lead Agri exports to new heights. Each Export Promotion Forum shall be having exporters of the related commodity as its members along with official members representing concerned Ministries/Departments of the Central and State Governments. Chairman APEDA shall be the chairman of each of these forums. The forums will meet at least once every two months, to discuss recommendations on issues pertaining to the export.
The recommendations of the forum will be placed in the product committee / Authority of APEDA. The Forum will keep in close contact with the concerned organization of the Ministry of Agriculture such as MIDH, Extension, NPPO, etc., DGFT, Ministry of Civil Aviation, MoFPI, etc. to further the interest of agricultural export.
