News India Live, Digital Desk: The month of March 2026 is proving to be full of gifts for crores of subscribers of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). In the meeting chaired by the Union Labor and Employment Minister, the EPFO ​​3.0 project has been given the green signal, which will change the entire process from PF withdrawal to pension.1. Big update on interest rate: 8.25% rate retainedFor the financial year 2025-26, EPFO ​​has recommended retaining the interest rate of 8.25% on PF deposits. Although the Finance Ministry had suggested reducing it slightly, the Board has approved the old rate keeping the interests of the employees paramount. More than 7 crore employed people of the country will get its direct benefits.2. ‘EPFO 3.0’: Now claim settlement will be done in 3 days. Technically, EPFO ​​is now going to be completely hi-tech. Under EPFO ​​3.0, the system is being made so advanced that the current time taken from 7 to 15 days will be reduced to just 3 days (72 hours). Now account holders will not have to wait for weeks for their hard-earned money.3. You will get money back without making claim (Automatic Settlement) EPFO ​​has taken a revolutionary step and started ‘Auto-Initiation’ service. Under this, the money of those inoperative accounts will be sent directly to the member’s bank account in which the amount of less than ₹ 1,000 is deposited. For this, members will not need to fill any form or visit the office.4. EPS-95 Pension and new schemesGovernment has approved Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme, 2026 and Employees’ Pension Scheme, 2026 to modernize the legal framework of PF and pension. Apart from this, the demand to increase the minimum pension from ₹ 1,000 to ₹ 5,000 to ₹ 7,500 is also being seriously considered, on which Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman can make a big announcement soon.5. Modernization of IT System: Under the new reforms, EPFO ​​is strengthening its IT infrastructure so that the website does not crash during heavy traffic. Also, in future, facilities like PF withdrawal through ATM and UPI based payment are also being worked on, which will completely change the experience of the account holders.