No
HR needed anymore for PE claims, UAN Creation
Extract
from the article:
The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has taken a transformative
leap by making all its services accessible via the government’s Umang mobile
application. This strategic enhancement empowers EPFO members to self-generate
their Universal Account Number (UAN) — a pivotal identifier linked to every
employee’s PF account — directly through their smartphones without relying on
their employers’ HR departments. Previously, the cumbersome process mandated HR
departments to initiate and manage UAN allocations, often resulting in delays
and inefficiencies.
This shift towards a digital self-service model marks a
significant democratization and streamlining of access within India’s vast
workforce ecosystem. By removing the HR bottleneck, members can now
effortlessly claim PF benefits, facilitate online transactions, and track their
accounts in real time. This innovation not only reduces administrative overhead
but also aligns with the government’s broader vision of digitization and
transparency in social security services.
My
Take:
A. Conspiracy
of Cards
Reflecting on my earlier discourse around the expansive outreach of social
security via digital channels, I had underscored the pressing need to envelop
the entire workforce under post-retirement social safety nets, especially those
in the unorganized sector who largely remain out of the ambit of formal
benefits. I wrote, "By implementing my suggestion, we will ensure that our
entire work force gets covered by a POST RETIREMENT SOCIAL SECURITY, without
imposing any big financial burden on the government." This early
recognition of digital inclusion’s potential mirrors the current EPFO
initiative that facilitates direct UAN generation on mobile devices without HR
intermediaries.
The EPFO’s embrace of the Umang app is an evolutionary
stride in realizing the seamless empowerment I envisaged years ago. The removal
of human intermediaries democratizes access and eradicates systemic delays. My
vision of incentivizing digital payments and linking them to provident fund
contributions resonates with this move to harness mobile ubiquity. In essence,
the foundational principle remains the same — robust, scalable, and user-driven
integration of social security mechanisms with everyday technology.
B. Universal
Payments ID: How about Unique Personal ID?
In this prior analysis, I explored the notion of a universal personal
identifier that transcends fragmented identity systems, with a focus on
streamlining payments and social benefit access. I had stated, “The plan is to
build a universal payments ID for EVERY INDIAN that would completely do away
with the need of Aadhar readers.” The EPFO’s initiative to allow
self-generation of UAN via the Umang app is a tangible step along this
continuum, eliminating dependence on intermediary bodies and integrating identity
management with mobile technology.
The impetus behind a singular, portable personal ID
resonates profoundly with UAN’s role as a unifying key in EPFO’s digital
infrastructure. Here, the government’s move embraces the digital identity
paradigm I advocated for—one that empowers citizens and decouples bureaucratic
gatekeeping from essential service delivery. As India accelerates towards
universal digital inclusion, such institutional adoption heralds a convergence
of identity verification, financial inclusion, and social welfare under a single
mobile umbrella.
C. Hats
off to R Prasad
In a recent reflection, I applauded visionary government efforts to
conceptualize a singular, secure, and dynamic personal card — YUP — empowered
by facial recognition and real-time data embedding. The concept underpinning
YUP was to enable individuals to carry comprehensive digital identity
portfolios on their smartphones, editable and accessible with a simple selfie
upload. This ambitious initiative exemplifies how technology can pivot identity
management away from archaic, paper-heavy systems toward fluid, self-managed
digital identities.
The EPFO’s strategy to utilize the Umang app for UAN
creation echoes that futuristic vision. By decentralizing account creation, the
EPFO syncs well with the YUP philosophy of user-driven data control and
on-demand service access. Together, these movements reflect a sophisticated
maturation in India’s social security ecosystem — one where identity, benefits,
and technology meld into an intuitive, citizen-centric experience. The EPFO’s
adoption of mobile technology for UAN issuance is a commendable microcosm of
the larger revolution I envisaged.
Call to
Action:
To the EPFO leadership and policymakers steering this digital transition, I
urge a relentless focus on user experience and grassroots awareness. Making UAN
generation possible on mobile devices is groundbreaking, but maximum impact
demands robust outreach to inform and train workers across organized and
unorganized sectors, especially those less technologically proficient. Seamless
integration with other social benefit schemes could further compound the
convenience and maximize coverage.
To the workforce, particularly those in informal employment
who might have previously faced barriers, I encourage embracing this tool — it
empowers you to reclaim control over your social security benefits with just a
few taps. And to HR departments, rather than seeing this as disruptor, view it
as an opportunity to streamline your workflows and support employees better.
Let us collectively nurture this digital renaissance in
public welfare — speeding towards a future where bureaucratic bottlenecks are
relics of the past, and digital empowerment is the new norm.
With regards,
Hemen Parekh
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