New Delhi, July 9 -- The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) aims to credit more than Rs.1.44 lakh crore in interest into nearly 340 million provident fund accounts by July 15, in what could be its fastest annual interest payout in years following the rollout of its new Centralized IT Enabled Services (CITES) platform, Union labour and employment minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Wednesday. If achieved, the timeline would mark a significant improvement over previous years, when annual interest crediting often stretched until October or November after the interest rate was notified. The interest will be credited at the 8.25% rate approved for FY26 by the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) in March, subject to completion of field verification to ensure no account receives incorrect interest, Mandaviya said while briefing reporters on measures taken to streamline EPFO transactions. The recommendation of the CBT, chaired by Mandaviya, was subsequently approved by the government. "The organization has significantly improved its systems for interest crediting, enabling the exercise to be completed in a much shorter time," Mandaviya said, attributing the faster timeline to EPFO's technology-driven reforms. The acceleration follows EPFO's migration from a decentralized system, where each regional office maintained its own database, to a single national database under the CITES project. The centralized platform enables member records to be processed nationally, allowing services to be delivered from any authorized EPFO office instead of only the office where an account is maintained. According to EPFO's internal implementation roadmap, annual interest credit will now be processed through an automated workflow on the centralized platform. EPFO has also raised the auto-settlement limit for fully KYC-compliant advance claims to Rs.5 lakh from Rs.1 lakh, Mandaviya said. Members will be able to respond online to clarification requests during claim processing, while approved claims will be settled through a centralized payment architecture, with funds credited directly into bank accounts on the day of settlement. Under the new platform, interest will be calculated up to the date of final payment authorization instead of the end of the previous month, ensuring subscribers earn interest for the full eligible period. Partial withdrawal rules have also been simplified by consolidating 13 provisions into three broad categories-essential needs, housing needs, and special circumstances. For employees changing jobs, Aadhaar-linked Universal Account Number (UAN)-based provident fund accounts will be transferred automatically, along with service history, eliminating approvals from previous employers, new employers and EPFO offices. Pensioners will also be able to access services from any EPFO office, while pension payments will be credited to bank accounts nationwide under the Centralised Pension Payment System....