The EPFO’s UMANG app (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) has been a big triumph among Provident Fund subscribers as it has allowed them to use services during COVID-19 pandemic from the comfort of their homes.
At present, PF members can access 16 different services of EPFO through their UMANG App from the phones. A reminder to note that avail of these services an active UAN (Universal Account Number) and a mobile number registered with the EPFO are required.
Additionally, through the UMANG app, a member can raise a claim, track a claim, and know the status of the claim raised. During the COVID-19 pandemic period from April to July 2020, a total of 11.27 lakhs claims were filed online through UMANG App. This was a huge 180 per cent increase compared to the pre-COVID 19 periods from December 2019 to March 2020, where only 3.97 lakhs claims were submitted through the app. UMANG has allowed members to overcome the mobility restriction induced by COVID-19 pandemic in accessing EPFO’s services and thereby reduced the need to physically visit EPFO offices.
The most popular service provided by members through UMANG App is viewing ‘Member Passbook’. During the period from August 2019 to July 2020, this service cracked 27.55 crore viewership’s by EPF members through EPFO Member Portal whereas the same facility of view Member Passbook through UMANG App attracted 244.77 crore API hits. The PIB notification says the ease of access with a click of a button on their mobile app has seen more members preferring UMANG app over the portal.
EPFO brought the facility of ‘view pensioner passbook’ and updating the Jeevan Pramaan Patra on UMANG app, to ensure the safe and secure delivery of its services at the doorsteps on its 66 lakh pensioners. Both the services receive amazing responses from current pensioners. During the COVID-19 pandemic period from April to July 2020, 18.52 lakhs API hits were experienced on View Pensioner Passbook service while 29,773 API hits were recorded on updating Jeevan Pramaan Patra service.
Among the other key services, UAN Activation registered 21,27,942 API hits while the e-KYC services recorded 13,21,07,910 API hits on UMANG App during the period from April to July 2020.
With smartphone penetration rising in India, EPFO has been able to extend access of its services to its members through mobile governance, thus it helps in bridging the digital divide. According to the PIB notification, EPFO has become the largest organization on UMANG accounting for more than 90 per cent of the footfall on the app.
