Business Body Flags concerns about EPFO's face verification

New Delhi: The Association of Industries & Institutions (New Delhi) has requested the Ministry of Labor to reconsider a recent Richtien by the Employee Supply Funds Organization (EPFO) which produced the Aadhaar-based facial verification for the generation of universal account numbers (UAN’s), have operational disruptions for employees. The industry body, with more than 7,000 members, wrote to Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Labor and Employment, and requested the government to retain the Umang app and the Unified Employer Portal as parallel options for UAN generation. The association, which includes businesses, SMEs and multinational businesses in the public sector, has marked the EPFO’s July 30 circular as particularly problematic for sectors characterized by high drop -off, limited smartphone access and low digital literacy. The mandate, effectively on August 1, requires UAN allocation and activation exclusively by the Umang app. Umang of the Unified Mobile Application for New-AG management is a mobile platform developed by the government that offers citizens seamless access to a wide range of central, state and selected private sector services, through a single user-friendly interface. Although the policy aims to improve workflow and improve identity verification, the association warned that it could lead to widespread challenges for compliance. This urged the government to retain various access points to ensure a smoother transition. “It is, with in-depth concerns, our representation on the recent mandate of the employees ‘provident fund (EPFO)’ s recent mandate … which exclusively by the Umang (Unified Mobile Application for New Age Governance (UNIn). Face-verification technology (FAT), effective on August 1, 2025, required. However, the current Richtieijn has been introduced without adequate consideration of the practical challenges and widespread operational implications, thereby a significant compliance with bottlenecks for employers and stakeholders, “it added. A copy of the letter was reviewed by Mint. Setting up, arguing that a double channel approach will help prevent administrative delays and facilitate the burdens of the compliance. facilitated, the group recommended that bulk uan generation be allowed by employers using Aadhaar-based E-KYC, with face verification postponed to a later stage. Innovation The future is, its introduction is inclusive, pragmatic and sensitive to the realities of India’s diverse workforce, “the letter states. reach to withdraw or postpone the said circular, “he added.