Business
EPFO allows up to 100% part PF withdrawal: Digital services simplified; what it means for your savings – The Times of India
In a major reform aimed at improving ease of access and flexibility for over seven crore subscribers, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) board on Monday approved liberalised partial withdrawal rules, allowing members to withdraw up to 100 per cent of their EPF balance.The Central Board of Trustees (CBT), headed by Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, announced a series of key decisions during its meeting, including simplification of withdrawal provisions, introduction of the Vishwas Scheme to reduce litigation, and a digital transformation plan under EPFO 3.0, PTI reported.According to a Labour Ministry statement, 13 complex provisions for partial withdrawals have been merged into a single, streamlined framework categorised under three heads — Essential Needs (illness, education, marriage), Housing Needs, and Special Circumstances.Members will now be able to withdraw up to 100 per cent of their eligible provident fund balance, including both employee and employer contributions. Withdrawal limits for education and marriage have been liberalised, allowing up to 10 times for education and 5 times for marriage, compared to the earlier combined cap of three partial withdrawals.To enhance accessibility, the minimum service requirement for all types of withdrawals has been uniformly reduced to 12 months. Under the Special Circumstances category, members will no longer be required to specify reasons for withdrawal, removing a major cause of claim rejections and grievances.In a key safeguard, 25 per cent of the member’s account contributions will now be earmarked as a minimum balance to ensure continued accumulation of retirement savings. This will allow members to benefit from EPFO’s high interest rate of 8.25% per annum and compound returns for long-term corpus building.The rationalised withdrawal rules are expected to pave the way for 100 per cent auto-settlement of claims without any documentation, ensuring ease of living for subscribers. Additionally, the period for premature final settlement of EPF has been increased from two months to 12 months, while final pension withdrawal will now be allowed after 36 months instead of two.The CBT also approved the Vishwas Scheme to address long-pending litigations arising from penal damages on delayed PF remittances. As of May 2025, penal damages worth Rs 2,406 crore were outstanding, with over 6,000 cases pending across various forums, including the Supreme Court and High Courts.Under the new scheme, penal damages will be reduced to a flat rate of 1 per cent per month, with graded rates of 0.25 per cent for defaults up to two months and 0.50 per cent for defaults up to four months. The scheme will remain operational for six months, extendable by another six months, and covers ongoing, finalised, and pre-adjudication cases under Section 14B. All pending cases will stand abated upon compliance under the scheme.To improve pensioner convenience, the Board approved an MoU with India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) to provide doorstep Digital Life Certificate (DLC) services to EPS’95 pensioners at no cost. The Rs 50 per certificate charge will be fully borne by EPFO. This initiative will especially benefit pensioners in remote and rural areas, enabling home-based certificate submission and ensuring uninterrupted pension disbursal.As part of EPFO 3.0, the board approved a comprehensive member-centric digital transformation framework. The new hybrid design will integrate core banking solutions with cloud-native, API-first, microservices-based systems covering account management, ERP, compliance, and customer experience.This transformation aims to enable faster, automated claim settlements, instant withdrawals, multilingual self-service, and seamless payroll-linked contributions — reinforcing EPFO’s commitment to transparency, efficiency, and technology-driven governance.Additionally, the Central Board approved the appointment of four fund managers to handle EPFO’s debt portfolio for five years. The selected firms are SBI Funds Management Limited, HDFC AMC Limited, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Limited, and UTI AMC Limited. The move, recommended by the Selection and Investment Committees, is expected to strengthen risk diversification and ensure prudent management of provident fund investments in line with long-term objectives.Labour Minister Mandaviya also inaugurated a series of digital initiatives aimed at enhancing transparency, efficiency, and user experience in service delivery, reinforcing EPFO’s goal of ensuring ease of living for members and pensioners alike
NEW DELHI: People with job cards assigned under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Scheme will be able to get work without disruption when transition takes place to new rural employment framework under Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act.Even though exact timeframe is not known yet, rural development ministry officials said the VB-G RAM G scheme will come into force in the coming financial year after the Centre frames and notifies the rules. After govt notifies the Act’s commencement date, states will get six months to make their schemes to enable implementation of the law.To ensure there is no disruption and job guarantee is upheld during transition from MGNREGA, it has been proposed to enable workers to use the same job cards issued under MGNREGA with Aadhaar-based eKYC.The officials said that as of now, around 75% of job cards have been verified with eKYC under the ongoing scheme. Moreover, ongoing projects under MGNREGA, if incomplete when the transition happens to the new scheme, would stay on course.Meanwhile, work is on to frame rules, lay out regulations on normative allocations, fund flow plan, IT framework, a national-level steering panel and social audits.Under the new law, focus will be on transparency to weed out leakages and duplicacy of work,the social audit system will be strengthened, and technology leveraged to create systems to establish work progress, timely wage payment and accountability through ‘e-measurement’ books, sources said. Demand for work will have to be entered on a digital platform. Officials made it clear the new law in no way interferes with demand-driven character of the scheme.
Business
Gurugram Attracts Rs 86,588 Crore In Real Estate Investments In 2025 As RERA Clears 131 Projects
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Alongside rising investments, Gurugram RERA strengthened regulatory oversight to safeguard homebuyer and investor interests
Gurgaon Real Estate (Representative Image)
Gurugram emerged as one of India’s top real estate investment destinations in 2025, with projects worth Rs 86,588 crore receiving regulatory approvals during the year, according to data from the Gurugram Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Gurugram RERA).
Market observers said the numbers reflect strong investor confidence in the NCR’s largest commercial and residential hub.
Gurugram RERA registered 131 projects in calendar year 2025, representing development potential of 35,455 units across housing and commercial segments.
A striking feature of the data was the dominance of large-ticket projects. Just 28 major developments accounted for investments worth Rs 59,360 crore, highlighting the growing influence of institutional capital and large developers in shaping Gurugram’s property market.
Residential assets continued to attract the bulk of investment interest. Of the total units approved, 31,455 were residential, underscoring sustained end-user demand and long-term confidence in the city’s housing fundamentals.
According to Authority data, the residential mix included 17,405 group housing units, 5,720 mixed land use units, 4,040 residential floor units, 2,122 affordable group housing units, 1,954 units under the Deen Dayal housing scheme, and 214 residential plotted colony units.
Market observers said this diversified supply pipeline indicates capital deployment across both premium and mass segments, helping reduce concentration risk and deepen market resilience.
On the commercial side, Gurugram RERA approved about 4,000 commercial units, of which 168 were dedicated to IT parks, reinforcing Gurugram’s position as a preferred hub for technology firms and Global Capability Centres.
Analysts noted that the combination of office-led employment growth and residential expansion continues to make Gurugram attractive for long-term capital deployment.
Industry experts said the scale of investments approved in 2025 highlights Gurugram’s ability to attract capital despite global uncertainty, supported by infrastructure growth, a strong corporate base and an improving regulatory environment.
“With a large pipeline of approved projects and sustained interest from developers and institutional investors, Gurugram is expected to remain a key real estate investment destination in the coming years,” a Gurugram-based real estate expert said.
Tighter regulatory checks
Alongside rising investments, Gurugram RERA strengthened regulatory oversight to enhance transparency and safeguard homebuyer and investor interests.
“These steps included stricter scrutiny of developer submissions, mandatory site inspections by domain experts, and public consultation through mandatory notices before project registration,” an Authority official said.
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January 16, 2026, 07:44 IST
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National Startup Day highlights India’s thriving startup ecosystem, celebrating innovation, entrepreneurship and job creation driven by founders, unicorns and Startup India mission
National Startup Day 2026 honours Indian startups, entrepreneurs and innovators driving economic growth and job creation.
National Startup Day 2026: India’s startup ecosystem has evolved into one of the world’s most vibrant and promising innovation hubs. To recognise the contribution of entrepreneurs, founders and startups transforming ideas into impactful solutions, National Startup Day is observed every year on January 16 across the country.
Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2022, the day celebrates visionary entrepreneurs who play a crucial role in economic growth, employment generation and technological advancement.
National Startup Day serves as a reminder that innovation, backed by determination and policy support, can reshape society and create global impact.
National Startup Day 2026 Theme
The official theme for National Startup Day 2026 is yet to be announced. However, the core focus areas are expected to revolve around:
- Innovation and emerging technologies
- Entrepreneurship and leadership
- Self-reliance (Atmanirbhar Bharat)
- Startup India Mission
- Youth empowerment
- Job creation
How Startups Are Shaping India’s Future
India currently ranks as the third-largest startup ecosystem globally, with over 1.59 lakh startups recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) as of early 2025. Backed by 100+ unicorns, the ecosystem continues to grow rapidly.
Metro cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi-NCR lead this expansion, while Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities are emerging as new innovation centres, adding diversity and scale to India’s entrepreneurial journey.
Startups across fintech, edtech, health-tech, e-commerce and deep-tech are addressing real-world challenges and gaining global recognition. Technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain and IoT are increasingly driving innovation, according to Startup India ecosystem reports.
Industry-Wise Startup Impact
DPIIT-recognised startups have generated over 16.6 lakh direct jobs across sectors as of October 31, 2024, strengthening India’s employment landscape.
- IT Services: 2.04 lakh jobs
- Healthcare & Life Sciences: 1.47 lakh jobs
- Commercial & Professional Services: 94,000 jobs
Through the Startup India initiative, the government continues to focus on skill development, funding access, ecosystem collaboration and global outreach.
Key Initiatives Under Startup India
- Capacity building and mentorship
- Outreach and awareness programmes
- Ecosystem development events
- International exposure and global linkages
- Collaboration between startups, corporates and institutions.
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January 16, 2026, 07:00 IST
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Canada Goose reshuffles leadership to drive global growth
Those with MGNREGA cards to get work during transition to G RAM G Act – The Times of India
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