India raises EPFO wage ceiling to ₹25,000

The Indian government has increased the compulsory wage ceiling for membership in the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 per month. This change, effective from 17 September 2026, marks the first revision of the threshold since 2014.

The revision is expected to bring more than 51 lakh additional workers under the mandatory social security net, providing them with access to the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) and the Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) scheme.

To ensure implementation, the Union Labour Secretary has directed all Central Government ministries and departments to enforce compliance across their organizations. This includes Central Public Sector Enterprises, statutory bodies, and autonomous offices. Furthermore, ministries have been instructed to ensure that contract and outsourced workers within these departments are covered under the new ceiling.