- Why in news
- On 22 August 2026, EPFO urged establishments to use the Employees' Enrolment Campaign 2026, open from 29 June to 31 October 2026, to enrol employees left out of EPF coverage.
- What it is
- The Employees' Enrolment Campaign 2026 is a time-bound, voluntary compliance window run by EPFO. It lets employers regularise past non-enrolment of eligible employees, with relaxations on past dues. It aims to widen provident fund, pension and insurance coverage.
- Period covered
- It covers employees left out of EPF coverage between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2026.
- Eligible employees
- Only employees who are alive and still working with the establishment on the date of declaration can be enrolled.
- Relaxation
- The employee's share is waived where it was not deducted earlier, subject to conditions.
- Process
- A Face Authentication-based UAN is generated through the UMANG App, and contributions are remitted through the ECR.
Don’t confuse with EEC 2026 vs ELI scheme: EEC 2026 is a compliance window to enrol left-out employees. The Employment Linked Incentive scheme is a separate scheme that gives incentives for jobs.
Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.
Why it matters
- Extends provident fund, pension and insurance cover to workers left outside the formal social security net.
- Lets employers fix past non-compliance without heavy penal burden, which encourages voluntary formalisation.
Problems
- Success depends on employers coming forward voluntarily, with little pressure to do so.
- Workers who have died or left the establishment are not covered, so some past exclusion remains.
Way forward
- Combine outreach with data matching and inspections to find establishments that have not enrolled workers.
- Raise awareness among workers so they can check their own UAN and coverage.
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Time-limited one-off campaign on EPF coverage. Related to EPF schemes already on file, but few lasting facts for a statement.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.