The Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) hosted an interactive session with Salil Sankar, Regional Commissioner, Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), Bengaluru, to discuss the EPFO’s recent reforms focusing on digital transformation and simplified compliance.

The event brought together senior industry representatives, HR leaders, and compliance professionals, who deliberated on the evolving social security ecosystem and the government’s initiatives to make compliance more transparent and efficient.

Sankar highlighted EPFO’s drive to create awareness about incentives under the Prime Minister’s Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PMVBRY), aimed at boosting employment generation. He detailed the EPFO 3.0 platform, which streamlines workflows, reduces documentation, and enhances turnaround time. The Commissioner also spoke about simplified withdrawal processes, improved online claim systems, and greater transparency in contributions and settlements.

Addressing the forum, he said, “Our goal is to ensure that social security systems are robust, accessible, and user-friendly. Recent reforms and digitisation initiatives are designed to reduce procedural complexities and enable faster, seamless services. Engagements like these help us understand on-ground challenges and continuously improve.”

He noted that the EPFO is prioritising claim settlements for verified members over minor deficiencies and urged employers to ensure accurate data entry in the Electronic Challan-cum-Return (ECR) system to prevent account complications. The Commissioner also reflected on the 2011 digital shift with the introduction of the Universal Account Number (UAN)—a process that required massive data validation efforts and is now 99.73% Aadhaar-seeded.

K. Ravi, Senior Vice President, BCIC, welcomed the interactive dialogue, calling it “an essential step in building trust and clarity among employers, employees, and the department.” He said BCIC, which represents over 800 enterprises across Karnataka, would actively support policy consultations and collaborative reforms.

Saraswathi K, Chairperson of BCIC’s Expert Committee on Human Resources, emphasised the need for legal certainty in compliance. She welcomed the upcoming Vishwas Scheme to settle litigations and suggested that the Social Security Code, with its five-year limitation clause, be implemented soon to reduce regulatory ambiguity.

The discussion also touched upon EPFO 3.0’s upcoming digital features, including instant withdrawals via ATMs or UPI, auto-claim settlements, real-time balance checks through UPI apps, and OTP-based online corrections of personal details — marking a significant leap toward a mobile-first, user-friendly compliance

ecosystem.