PANAJI
The issue of beneficiaries having their provident fund benefits blocked because the software used by the Organisation does not accept commas and apostrophes in surnames echoed in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'brien raised the issue and urged the Centre to get the EPFO to make the necessary upgradation of software rather than pushing the burden on individual beneficiaries to go through the burdensome procedures of name-change.
According to O'Brien, the EPFO has been directing beneficiaries to change names and comply with KYC.
He told the Rajya Sabha that thousands of people in Goa and elsewhere in the country have surnames of Portuguese descent which include a comma or an apostrophe. He cited several Goan and Anglo-Indian surnames to make his point.
O'Brien said it was ridiculous that the EPFO was asking the beneficiaries to change their surnames to remove the apostrophes or commas in their surnames instead of upgrading their software to accept these surnames.
He asserted the Central government needs to introduce the 'apostrophe' and 'hyphen' in the software for the smooth disbursal of provident fund benefit.
