The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is facing growing public outrage over its frequently malfunctioning website, despite reports that Rs 320-Rs 340 crore have been spent on its development in the past three years.
Users have turned to social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) to claim that basic tasks like accessing passbooks, changing mobile numbers, or receiving OTPs can take up to over an hour or fail entirely.
Senior journalist Neil Borate has also highlighted the issue. “EPF 3.0, where are you? First, let's look at the website. Apparently 320 cr was spent on it over the last 3 yrs. Yet it barely functions,” he wrote on X.
This came in response to a tweet that said, “Rs 340 Crores have been spent on the EPFO website in the last 3 years alone. And yet.
Takes 1+ hour just to change a password or mobile number
OTP SMS often delayed by 10+ minutes
Is this the quality we get after looting taxpayers in the name of ‘Digital India'.”
EPF 3.0, where are you?
First, let's look at the website.
Apparently 320 cr was spent on it over the last 3 yrs. Yet it barely functions.https://t.co/iyMiR095SwIn a follow-up post, Borate pointed out the delay in EPFO's ambitious “EPF 3.0” upgrade, which was meant to roll out in June.
Promised features included ATM/UPI-based withdrawals, auto-settlement of claims up to ₹5 lakh and simplified procedures like removing employer approval for bank changes and eliminating the need to upload cheques. With June now over, there has been no update or rollout in sight.And then we have this EPF 3.0 announcement. Things like:
1) Withdrawal from ATMs/UPI
2) Auto settlement up to 5 lakh (up from 1 lakh)
3) No employer approval for bank account change
4) No need to upload cheque for claims.
Supposed to happen in June.
June is over. Nothing.A Reddit user posted a sarcastic and scathing critique of the EPFO, talking about the frustrating and outdated processes users face when trying to access their own savings. Describing it as a “Kafkaesque video game,” the user detailed how logging in is an ordeal, checking the balance leads to broken portals, claim submissions are often rejected without explanation, and customer support is virtually non-existent.
The post ends with the sentiment that EPFO is where your savings go to sleep, and you lose your sanity.
Sharing this from a Reddit post. I couldn't stop laughing! This is the sad reality though. pic.twitter.com/sLNwLKDXzg
The post was shared on X, to which a user posted, “It's absolutely crazy that one of the most used Indian government websites feels like you are time travelling back to 1998. If it's so bad for something elite white collar Indians use, can you imagine Union government IT infra in other more hidden places?”
It's absolutely crazy that one of the most used Indian government websites feels like you are time travelling back to 1998.
If it's so bad for something elite white collar Indians use, can you imagine Union government IT infra in other more hidden places? https://t.co/AHSbX4xCUyA user complained and tagged the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, "10+ days of EPFO portal being down!! @AshwiniVaishnaw. Have you ever heard of a private portal being down for 10 days straight? On one side we build CoWin portals that took loads of millions of users, on other side this disaster by @epfo ."
EPF 3.0, where are you?
First, let's look at the website.
Apparently 320 cr was spent on it over the last 3 yrs. Yet it barely functions.https://t.co/iyMiR095SwAnother said, “Dear EPFO, please hire somebody to fix your portal. Have been trying to access the EFPO passbook but the portal has been down for more than 2 weeks now. Thanks, Aam Admi.”
Dear EPFO,
please hire somebody to fix your portal. Have been trying to access the EFPO passbook but the portal is down for more than 2weeks now.
Thanks
Aam Admi“Time to dissolve the EPFO. Send everyone's money back. Whoever wants can voluntarily contribute. Replace the 40,000 folks who can't run a website with 6 engineers and a team lead, and automate the entire thing (we all know this can be done),” a comment read.
Time to dissolve the EPFO. Send everyone's money back. Whoever wants can voluntarily contribute. Replace the 40,000 folks who can't run a website with 6 engineers and a team lead, and automate the entire thing (we all know this can be done).
The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is a government body that manages the Provident Fund (PF), a retirement savings scheme where both employees and employers contribute regularly to build a financial cushion for the employee's future.
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