The National Statistical Office (NSO) released a report on payroll data, of new subscribers to the various social-security schemes run by the retirement fund body, Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), as well as the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). The payroll data has been released since April, 2018, by NSO, which has been covering the payroll data for these three bodies, for the period September 2017 to January, 2020.
According to the report, around 3.62 crore new subscribers joined the ESIC scheme between September, 2017 and January, 2020. In addition, gross enrolments of new subscribers with ESIC were 1.49 crore during the 2018-19 financial year. At the same time, the numbers show that gross enrolments with the ESIC were 1.29 crore during April-January this fiscal.
During the September 2017 – March 2018 period, gross new enrolments with the ESIC were to the tune of 83.35 lakh.
For the various other schemes, a net of 10.45 lakh new enrolments with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) were registered in January 2020, as compared to the 9.12 lakh registered in December, 2019. The latest data showed that around 3.20 crore new subscribers joined the EPFO during September 2017-Janury 2020.
In the year 2018, around 61.12 lakh new subscribers joined the social security schemes run by EPFO on a net basis. On a similar note, the net new enrolments were 15.52 lakh during September 2017 to March 2018.
The report also shows that the net of 69.35 new members, who joined the social security schemes run by EPFO in April to January this fiscal, is higher than the number for the period 2018-19. which totals around 61.12 lakh.
In its report, NSO clarifies that the number of subscribers is gathered from various sources, and as such, there are overlaps. Further, the organisation mentions that the report gives different perspectives on the levels of employment in the formal sector and does not measure employment on a holistic level.
