The Employee’s Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) announced a public outreach programme named the Nidhi Aapke Nikat Programme on the 10th of July 2015. It caters to the very purpose of strengthening the grievance redressal mechanism. This programme is an attempt to bring together different stakeholders on a common platform. It is not an endeavour to just address the subscriber’s issues, but also to encourage their suggestions and make the stakeholders aware of the new initiatives.
Focal Features of Nidhi Aapke Nikat Programme
- The NANP meeting is proposed to be held on the 10th of every month. In case 10th happens to be a holiday, the meeting will be held on the very next working day.
- The meeting is held in all the field offices of EPFO in India. Officer-in-charge is the one who leads the programme.
- This programme has a twofold objective:
- It addresses the issues raised by the subscribers, encourages the employees and employers to give their suggestions or feedback on the issues that are affecting EPFO and redresses the grievances.
- Brings together all the stakeholders on a common platform and sensitizes them about the new initiatives undertaken in their interest.
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Fresh Guidelines issued by EPFO for Nidhi Aapke Nikat Programme
In order to ensure proper formulation and implementation of the programme, EPFO has laid down fresh guidelines with complete emphasis on the grievance redressal mechanism for public interest-
- The NANP meeting must also be conducted outside the office premises of EPFO in industrial areas and public locations which are densely populated. This is to ensure that every individual is benefited by the services provided by the programme.
- The workshops and seminars shall be conducted for the subscribers to disseminate information regarding online claim filing, downloading e-passbook, linking Aadhaar Card with UAN or eKYC, using SMS services, using UMANG App etc.
- There has to be proper and timely updates displayed at the PRO Cell regarding the schedule of the programme.
- All the complaints, grievances and applications received at the end of the programme must be handled carefully with a customer-centric approach. In case any of the issues end up being unsolved, it is the responsibility of the programme’s officer-in-charge to ensure proper marking and delivery of the issues at the concerned departments in EPFO. The entire process is to be supervised by the incharge till disposal of the same.
The Nidhi Aapke Nikat programme is not entirely associated with a participatory and broad based approach in dealing with the stakeholders, but is also concentrated upon the dissemal of information related to the new initiatives taken in their interest. Over a period of time, these measures have been proved quite effective when it comes to public interest by spreading awareness about the rights & responsibilities of all the stakeholders and checking the number of grievances in future.