EPF exempted establishment can now
invest in rupee bond of New Development Bank
The government on Thursday included specified bond
of the New Development Bank for investment by exempted entities under Employees
Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).
According to a notification by the Labour Ministry,
under the 'Debt Instruments and Related Investments' category, rupee bonds
having an outstanding maturity of at least three years from NDB has been
included along with those issued by the International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development, International Finance Corporation and Asian Development Bank.
Under this, an exempted establishment can invest minimum of 35 per cent and
maximum of 45 per cent.
It may be noted that EPF Exempted
Establishment means an employer entity that has set up a Private Provident
Fund Trust for coverage of its employees and has obtained exemption under
Section 17 of the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act.
These entities are permitted to manage their own PF Trust without making
statutory contributions. Such exempted establishments are statutorily mandated
to provide benefits that are at least on par with those provided by EPFO to
subscribers and comply with the notified conditions of exemption as outlined in
the Act.
NDB is a multilateral development bank established
by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) with the purpose of
mobilising resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in
emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs). Working together with member
countries and stakeholders, the bank leverages capital for development purposes
to accelerate economic growth, as well as to achieve environmental and social
sustainability to improve the lives of people in its member countries.
In her speech, during recently held BRICS Finance
Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, NDB President Dilma Rousseff said
that the institution's planned Indian Rupee bond program aims to mobilize
around ₹250 billion equivalent to $2.5 billion over five years, deepening
India's domestic bond market while helping borrowers, including private sector
ones, reduce currency risk. We shall remember that the prevision for India
sovereign loan in the next five years is $1 billion a year, totalling $5
billion . So, NDB prevision for the period is a total investment in India of $7.5
billion , she said.
Besides that, NDB has also become a growing player
in multicurrency lending using currency swaps.
NBD is accelerating non-sovereign operations,
engaging more deeply with private sector via direct lending, or through
public-private partnerships and using blended finance. Under the current
General Strategy, NDB has set a target of 30 per cent of financing to
non-sovereign operations.
For our next strategy cycle, covering 2027 to 2031,
we aim for 35 per cent, alongside an expanded local-currency target of 40 to 50
per cent, a climate finance target of 45 per cent, and a new target of 10 per
cent for innovation and digital transformation projects, from smart hospitals
to intelligent transport and infrastructure systems, she said.
www.thehindubusinessline.com,
dt. 12-09-2026