New Delhi, March 1 -- The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), the retirement fund manager under the Union labour ministry, on Thursday, 21 February raised the interest rate on deposits for its 60 million subscribers to 8.65% for the current fiscal, paring its reserves to the lowest level in three years. This is a 10 basis point increase from the 8.55% rate announced by the retirement fund for 2017-18. It is the same as the 2016-17 level, but less than the 8.8% it paid out in the previous years. In an election year, the EPFO's rate hike is seen as a sop for the salaried middle class and marks a continuation of the central government's efforts to keep key vote banks happy ahead of Lok Sabha polls due in April-May. "We have been wor...