The EPFO 3.0 rollout has been pushed back by approximately one year after the tender process is completed, according to reports from Business Standard. The request for proposal (RFP) to select the technology partner is still being prepared, with implementation expected to take around 12 months after the tender process is finalized. This delay could push the project beyond the timeline set by the Central Board of Trustees, which approved the EPFO 3.0 framework in October 2025 and sought implementation within a year. The delay has raised concerns about whether workers will have to wait for the new platform before accessing social-security benefits.
According to the minutes of the 113th Executive Committee meeting held in March 2025, EPFO had earlier planned to complete the design and tendering process by October 2024. However, the current delays mean the project will miss this original timeline. Email queries sent to the labour ministry and EPFO remained unanswered until press time, as reported by Business Standard.
Nitesh Kumar Das, organising secretary of Gig Workers Association (GigWA), expressed strong concerns about the delays affecting gig and platform workers. As reported by Business Standard, Das stated that social security is an immediate need for millions of gig workers and delays mean workers continue to face risks of accidents, illness, loss of income and old age without adequate protection. He said delays to EPFO 3.0 should not hold up benefits for gig and platform workers, emphasizing that "For millions of gig and platform workers, social security is not something they can wait for — it is an immediate need." He suggested the government should consider transitional arrangements allowing workers to access essential benefits before the technology system is complete, stating "Technology should make social security easier to deliver, not become a reason to postpone workers' rights."
According to Business Standard reports, Rishi Agrawal, cofounder and CEO of TeamLease RegTech, highlighted that implementing social-security provisions for gig workers would require clarity on contribution calculations, deposits, accounting and disbursement. With the government estimating that India has more than 10 million gig workers, Agrawal emphasized that a robust digital system would be needed to manage contributions and benefits at scale. He noted that digitization is core to the challenge, requiring heavy and thoughtful investment to ensure proposed changes are not just figments of imagination. Agrawal said EPFO 3.0 would address only part of the challenge, as "The traditional model of PF does not fit gig workers since these workers get paid on a transactional basis and not in fixed, monthly payouts like salaried employees."
As reported by Business Standard, EPFO 3.0 is being developed to overhaul the provident fund body's IT infrastructure through a core banking solution for member accounts and ledgers, alongside cloud-native, API-first and microservices-based systems. The labour ministry is developing a gig-worker insurance scheme and universal pension scheme under the proposed framework. Agrawal noted that the traditional PF model does not fit gig workers since these workers receive payment on a transactional basis rather than through fixed monthly payouts like salaried employees.
