Employees provident fund rate at 8.5 percent for 2008-09

October 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) has urged the central government to allow the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to invest at least 5 percent of its funds in equities. "The EPFO can also be a beneficiary of such emerging capital markets, provided it is permitted to invest a part of its corpus in index-based equity market - which is safer, reliable and remunerative," Assocham said in a report.

August 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Central Government on Tuesday announced that it would pay the second installment of the Sixth Pay Commission arrears to its employees, estimated to be about five million employees. The step will put a burden of over Rs 17,500 crore on the exchequer.

August 11th, 2009 Friends Provident agrees to Resolution takeoverLONDON — British insurance and pensions provider Friends Provident PLC on Tuesday agreed to a 1.86 billion pound ($3.06 billion) offer from buyout firm Resolution Ltd. The deal was recommended to shareholders and values Friends Provident shares at 79.4 pence ($1.30) each.

August 10th, 2009 Resolution makes Friends a sweetened offerLONDON —Shares in British insurance and pensions provider Friends Provident PLC jumped almost 8 percent on Monday when it restarted talks with buyout firm Resolution Ltd. after receiving a revised 1.86 billion pound proposal for the companies to merge.

July 27th, 2009 Friends Provident ends talks with ResolutionLONDON — British insurance and pensions provider Friends Provident PLC said Monday it has ended talks with buyout firm Resolution Ltd. over a 1.7 billion pound ($2.8 billion) takeover, rejecting a sweetened offer as "wholly inadequate." "The board sees no basis for further engagement with Resolution and has terminated discussions," Friends Provident said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.

July 13th, 2009 Friends Provident rejects takeover offerLONDON — British insurance and pensions provider Friends Provident PLC said Monday that it had rejected a 1.7 billion pound ($2.7 billion) takeover offer from buyout company Resolution Ltd. Friends Provident said the proposed offer of 0.8 new Resolution shares for every Friends Provident share was "wholly inadequate." It also said Resolution's governance structure would offer "less transparency" than its shareholders were used to "and a structure significantly different from recognized public company best practice." Resolution said it was considering making another offer.

July 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Provident fund deposits to the tune of Rs.3,837.7 crore (Rs.38.4 billion) are lying in the inoperative accounts of members or their heirs, the government said Monday. These are payable at any time when the claims are received, the same cannot be utilised for any other purpose.

July 7th, 2009 SEC alleges oil-and-gas Ponzi schemeDALLAS — Federal regulators have frozen the assets of a Delaware company accused of swindling nearly 8,000 investors in a $485 million Ponzi scheme that falsely promised hefty returns on investments in the oil and gas business, officials said Tuesday. Three businessmen in Dallas, where Provident Royalties LLC has its main office, ran the nationwide operation involving fraudulent securities offerings between June 2006 and January 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged in civil complaint filed in a North Texas federal court.

July 7th, 2009 SEC freezes assets of Dallas companyDALLAS — Federal regulators have frozen the assets of a company accused of running a $485 million Ponzi scheme centered on the oil and gas industry. In a statement issued Tuesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission says the scheme was orchestrated by three Dallas businessmen through a company called Provident Royalties LLC.

July 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is meeting today to discuss the rate of interest for provident fund for the current financial year. Labour Minster Mallikarjun Kharge will chair the meeting.

July 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI J - A crucial meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has decided to retain the 8.5 percent interest rate return on provident fund contributions. The decision has come on expected lines as payment of a higher rate of interest than 8.5 percent would have resulted in a deficit in the EPFO's account.

February 18th, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Kerala's 2006 per capita debt stood at over Rs.14,300 - the highest among states in south India - against the national average of around Rs.9,000. This was stated in the Economic Review 2008 tabled in the Kerala Assembly Thursday.

February 17th, 2009 SRINAGAR/JAMMU - The Jammu and Kashmir government Wednesday gave in to the striking employees' demand for higher salaries and said it will implement the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations. The decision follows talks in Jammu between a five-member team of cabinet members led by Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather and 30 representatives of the Joint Coordination Committee of employees.

January 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Terming three amendments to a notification under the Employees' Pension (Second Amendment) issued in 2008 as anti-labour, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded the government withdraw it immediately. 'The three amendments withdraw major provident fund benefits available to millions of workers of the country and we demand its immediate withdrawal,' BJP national spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said here Friday.

December 23rd, 2008 NEW DELHI - K. Chandramouli, a 1975 batch officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) with Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been named the next central provident fund Commissioner, it was announced Wednesday.