New Delhi, April 1 -- Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) entered into agreements with 15 additional public and private sector banks in the presence of Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Labour & Employment, Youth Affairs & Sports in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The newly empanelled 15 banks will enable direct payment of nearly Rs 12,000 Crore in annual collections and enable direct access to employers who maintain their accounts with these banks. For enabling employers covered under the Act to pay their monthly contributions, EPFO has already empanelled 17 banks, taking the total to 32.

Union Minister of Labour & Employment and Youth & Sports, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, in his address, stated that the country's progress towards a "...