New Delhi, March 3 -- The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Monday recommended an 8.25% interest rate for 2025-26 on deposits of nearly 70 million salaried Indians, holding the widely watched metric of middle-class savings steady amid global financial uncertainties. The central trustees' board of the state-run retirement funds body decided on the annual interest rate at its 239th meeting chaired by Union labour minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday. The decision will now be sent to the Union finance ministry for ratification after which the accrued interest will be paid into subscribers' accounts. FULL REPORT ON PAGE 14...