Centre considers proposal to assist PF members in getting house

Hyderabad: The Centre is actively considering a proposal to assist PF members in getting a house by pledging their present and future accumulations, Union labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya said.

This scheme would also contribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambition to ensure Housing for All by 2022, he said. The Union minister confirmed the increase in quantum of EPFO investments in Exchange Traded funds this year.

He said the investment would be raised beyond 5 percent and the figure would be when the Central Board of Trustees of the EPFO meets in a fortnight.

As on July 31, the amount invested in ETFs by the EPFO was Rs 7,468 crore and the market value had risen to '8,372 crore, a positive return of 12.10 percent, the minister said. The finance ministry has given the nod to the labour ministry to invest between 5 to 15 per cent of its funds in equity or equity-related schemes.