EPFO Tightens Provident Fund’s Withdrawal Norms

Retirement fund body EPFO has tightened norms on withdrawal of provident fund as well as investment of such amount in Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana for its over five crore subscribers.
"Now, the subscribers will not be able to claim withdrawal of their provident fund after attaining age of 54 years. They would have to wait till attaining the age 57 years. The ministry has notified new rules," a senior official told PTI.
As per the earlier norms, the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) subscribers were allowed to claim 90 per cent of their accumulations in their PF account at the age of 54 years and their claims were settled just one year before their retirement.
The official said that the earlier clause was relevant because there were establishments where retirement age was 55 years or 56 years.
"In today's scenario when retirement age is 58 years across all organisation the clause of scheme is not relevant. But the big change is that now under this facility, the subscriber would be able to withdraw his contribution and interest earned on it unlike 90 per cent of the total accumulations earlier," he explained.
In another change, EPFO has made it mandatory to wait till attaining the age of 57 for claiming PF withdrawal for transferring that to the Life Insurance Corporation of India for investment in Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana.
Earlier norms used to allow subscribers to claim 90 per cent of their accumulations for investing in the scheme after attaining the age of 55 years.
The EPFO has also amended the scheme for appointment of upto Joint Secretary level officers by its apex decision making body the Central Board of Trustees' (CBT).
The official said that this will help expedite promotions and appointment of officials because earlier the EPFO had to seek Labour Ministry approval of any appointment with pay scale of higher than Rs 14,300 to Rs 18,300 pay band.
In another enabling amendment to the scheme, the subscribers can directly file their claims like PF withdrawals without attestation of present or previous employers.
Earlier EPFO has launched new simplified form for subscribers who have activated their Universal Account Number to apply directly for settling such claims.
This amendment to scheme will remove any legal hassle for settling such claims through new simplified forms.

Pak Detains 18 Indian Fishermen

In second such incident within a week, 18 fishermen on board, three fishing trawlers of Gujarat were abducted by Pakistan Marine Security Agency (PMSA) while they were operating near the notional International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) of India and Pakistan in the Arabian Sea off Jkhau coast in Kutch on Thursday.
“Initially, we had reports that two fishing boats with 12 fishermen on board were detained by PMSA while they were operating near the IMBL. But now we have confirmation that three boats and 18 fishermen have been abducted. Two of the abducted boats are registered at Porbandar port while the third belongs to Okha port,” Manish Lodhari, secretary of Gujarat chapter of National Fish Workers Forum told The Indian Express.
Lodhari said that the incident took place between 11 am and 12 pm on Thursday. “We are not certain as yet if the seized boats had crossed the IMBL or they were detained while they were operating towards the Indian side of the IMBL,” he said.
This is second such incident within a week. On February 19, PMSA had abducted 16 Indian fishing trawlers along with 88 fishermen aboard for allegedly violating Pakistan waters. This incident was preceded by seizure of two Indian boats and 12 fishermen from the Arabian sea.
India and Pakistan have dispute over their waterfront at the Arabian sea. Despite repeated warnings from security agencies like Indian Coast Guard and fisheries department of Gujarat government, fishermen continue exploring the troubled waters and getting caught by the Pakistani security angeicies year after year.
“Around 60 boats have been seized by PMSA this fishing season alone. This is worrisome as fishermen who are caught are usually breadwinners of their families. The frequency of such incidents this month has been alarming,” Lodhari added.
The fishermen leader further said that there could be multiple reasons for Indian fishermen getting caught. “It is possible that they are not getting good catch elsewhere and venture near the IMBL in hope of more. It is also possible that water current in the creek may be swaying their boats or sometimes the captain of trawlers might not be able to note their GPS position and inadvertently wade into Pakistani waters,” Lodhari said.
According to fishermen leaders, more than 400 Indian fishermen are languishing in Pakistani jails and more than 600 fishing trawlers are in the custody of our western neighbours.

Vijay Mallya Quits as United Spirits Chairman

Liquor baron Vijay Mallya on Thursday quit as Chairman of United Spirits a company set up by his family but now controlled by global liquor giant Diageo and would shift to UK even as his group firms fight the 'wilful defaulter' tags given by lenders.
Mallya's exit from the board of United Spirits ends a long-drawn tussle between him and Diageo following allegations of irregularities on loans given to UB Group companies.

“Having recently turned 60, I have decided to spend more time in England, closer to my children,” Mallya said in a statement. Diageo said in a statement that the United Spirits board will appoint Mahendra Kumar Sharma, currently independent non-executive director and chairman of the audit committee of United Spirits, as chairman of United Spirits.
“The time has now come for me to move on and end all the publicised allegations and uncertainties about my relationship with Diageo Plc and United Spirits. Accordingly, I am resigning my position with immediate effect,” Mallya said in a surprise statement issued late on Thursday evening. He said he is pleased to have been able to agree terms with Diageo and United Spirits.  “The agreement we have reached secures my family legacy,” Mallya said.
Mallya said he has also agreed a global (excluding United Kingdom) five year non-compete arrangement with Diageo. The ongoing tussle over Mallya’s chairmanship in United Spirits has been brewing for some time. Diageo Plc completed the purchase of a majority stake (54.7%) in USL in July 2014 and has been pushing for Mallya’s removal from chairmanship since then. Mallya, however, has refused to step down.
In April, the board of directors at USL asked Mallya, who holds 4% stake in USL, to resign from the board after an internal probe allegedly found financial irregularities at India’s largest liquor company.
In its 2015 annual report, USL specified that the company has contractual obligations to support Mallya’s interest in the company, as a non-executive director and chairman of the company, subject to certain conditions.
“In the event that Mallya declines to step down, the board resolved to request Diageo to expeditiously review the position in relation to its contractual obligations and authorized sharing with Diageo a copy of the inquiry report and all the materials relating to the company’s inquiry,” USL said in its annual report.
At the annual board meeting of United Breweries in September 2015, Mallya refused to step down as chairman at USL, saying he would continue to chair the company’s AGMs.
“I have agreed a mutual release with both Diageo and United Spirits from claims concerning the alleged irregularities disclosed by USL in April 2015. I am now the Founder Emeritus of United Spirits which recognises my contribution in building United Spirits to what it is today and evokes great emotion and a degree of extreme satisfaction having steered United Spirits from a sales volume of just under 3 million cases to over 120 million cases when control was passed to Diageo,” Mallya said in his statement.
Mallya’s resignation comes at a time when State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank have declared him a wilful defaulter because of his inability to pay dues to many as 17 banks, amounting to Rs.7,000 crore. The loans were taken by Kingfisher Airlines.
“I fondly remember, as a young boy, launching McDowell’s, which the largest selling brand in the industry is. I also recall the challenges and personal sacrifices in the tumultuous acquisition of Shaw Wallace and the Royal Challenge brand. I feel both happy and satisfied that I helped create United Spirits as a clear market leader in the industry which contributed immensely to the local state economies,” Mallya said
Mallya said “on the sporting front, I will now be the Chief Mentor of the Royal Challengers Bangalore” IPL cricket team. “I have been passionate about this team since inception and am determined to do whatever I can to win the IPL trophy. I am glad that my son, Sidhartha, will remain as a director (of Royal Challengers Bangalore) as he is equally passionate about RCB,” Mallya said.
Diageo said Thursday’s agreement ends its prior agreement with Mallya regarding his position at USL; brings to an end the uncertainty relating to the governance of USL; and puts in place a five-year global non-compete, non-interference and standstill arrangement with Mallya.
“The financial terms of today’s agreement with Mallya provide for a payment of $75 million (approximately £53 million) to Mallya over a five year period. This payment will be charged to exceptional items in the year ending 30 June 2016,” Diageo said.
As part of the agreement, Diageo has also extended Smirnoff’s sponsorship of the Force India Formula 1 team of which Mallya is team principal and part-owner for the next five seasons.  The cost of this sponsorship is $15 million (approximately £11 million) per season.
“India is an exciting growth opportunity, and USL has the management team, strategy and capability to deliver on that opportunity. The agreement announced today is in the best interests of both Diageo and USL and allows USL to build on its strong platform in one of the biggest spirits markets in the world,” Ivan Menezes, chief executive of Diageo, said.