ESI scheme: Nearly five crore new subscribers in Sep 2017- March 2021 period

The National Statistical Office of the Ministry of Statistics has released employment outlook data for the period of September 2017 to March 2021. The data provides detailed information on the employee provident fund (EPF), employee state insurance scheme (ESI), and national pension scheme (NPS).

This data shows the number of employment opportunities that were open in the organised sector during this period. According to the data, nearly 5 crore new subscribers have been added during this period.

According to the data, from September 2017 to March 2021, 4,19,91,334 new subscribers have subscribed to the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) scheme.

More than 25 lakh people subscribed to NPS

There has been an increase in the NPS front too. A total of 25,43,373 new subscribers have subscribed between September 2017 to March 2021 through NPS’s central government scheme, state government scheme, and corporate scheme.

11 lakh new enrollments in March 2021

According to the payroll data released earlier, there have been 11.22 lakh new enrollments in March 2021, as compared to 11.28 lakhs in February. In the midst of the epidemic, a total of 77.08 lakh new members have been added to the EPFO ​​in the financial year 2020-21. In contrast, 78.58 lakh members were added in the financial year 2019-20.

Only 1.84 lakh women

Out of the 11.22 lakh enrolled, 7.16 lakh are new members while 4.06 lakh subscribers are those who have again subscribed to EPFO ​​after switching jobs. Out of these 7.16 lakh new subscribers, only 1.84 lakh are women.

ESI subscribers increased by 12 lakh in March

In March 2021, there has been an increase in the number of ESI subscribers to 12,24,59. Out of this, only 2,30,909 are women.

ESI is applicable to those employees who are employed in manufacturing and non-seasonal work. Under the scheme, workers are provided with health facilities during illness, disability, or maternity.

Those people who have an income up to Rs 21,000 per month get the benefit of this scheme.

67 lakh people contributed to NPS in March

A total of 67,90,774 subscribers have contributed to NPS in the month of March 2021, out of which 31,75,871 subscribers are over 35 years of age.

In March, 69,988 new subscribers joined the NPS, of which the highest number was in the state scheme.

The state scheme has added 48,777 new subscribers in March. The Ministry has clarified that NPS Lite Scheme and Atal Pension Yojana subscribers have not been counted in this data.

NPS is a retirement investment option in which 60% of the amount can be withdrawn on retirement and 40% can be taken out as an annuity plan. Through this annuity plan, a pension is received. NPS investor gets the opportunity to balance his/her investment through equity and debt funds.