Tag: EPFO

UPSC EPFO Mistakes Every Aspirant Must Avoid

The UPSC EPFO exam is one of the highly competitive exams, which many aspirants fail to clear because they all make the same mistakes every year. These mistakes often include ignoring the syllabus, avoiding UPSC EPFO previous year papers, skipping mock tests, etc. 

Making such mistakes reduces your chances of cracking the UPSC EPFO exam, and you need to invest another year in preparing. Which is again risky, as this is not a regular exam.

In this article, I’ll share the most common mistakes UPSC EPFO aspirants make and how you can avoid them!

Mistake 1: Not Checking Exam Pattern and Syllabus

It’s easy to make a big mistake when getting ready for the UPSC EPFO exam: not truly understanding the exam pattern and syllabus.

If you don’t match your study plan to how the exam is set up, you could end up wasting a lot of time on things that don’t matter.

How to Avoid This Mistake:

  • Rely on the official UPSC EPFO notification for the latest pattern 
  • Verify the syllabus from multiple sources so that you don’t miss any important topics. 
  • Focus on high-weightage topics from all subjects, but don’t ignore the rest of the topics.

Mistake 2: Avoid Solving UPSC EPFO Previous Year Papers

Another big mistake while preparing for the UPSC EPFO exam is not solving previous year papers. Many candidates focus too much on reading the concepts and forget to check the question types and patterns from the actual exam.

How you can use UPSC EPFO PYQs:

  • Solve past papers with a timer to simulate exam conditions.
  • Keep your phone on silent to avoid distractions.
  • Analyze every mistake to understand why you got the question wrong.

Mistake 3: Assuming Current Affairs Are Easy

Current Affairs are not as easy as they may look. They include various topics related to core EPFO subjects.

Many aspirants make the mistake of taking current affairs lightly, and they keep it for the end. But covering the past 4 to 6 months of current affairs in the end is quite challenging, as your mind has a limit to retain information to a certain point. 

Here is how you can prioritize GA:

  • Pay close attention to each current affair that is directly related to the UPSC EPFO syllabus, such as social security schemes, labor laws, and government policies.
  • Along with the reliable newspapers, you should also include the Press Information Bureau (PIB) for official government updates and announcements.
  • Learning current affairs is a continuous process. Dedicate time each week to review what you’ve read. Create short notes or use your daily current affairs app’s weekly summaries to reinforce your memory.
  • As you read a news item, think about how it relates to a topic in your syllabus.

Mistake 4: Not Practicing Enough Mock Tests

Many aspirants preparing for the UPSC EPFO exam skip practicing mock tests. They only focus on learning new concepts. 

Failing to practice mock questions leaves you unprepared, as you don’t actually know if those concepts are clear or not if you don’t practice. You’ll release this in the actual exam. 

How to Avoid This Mistake:

  • Make time every week to do a full mock test, just as if it were the real exam.
  • After each test, review your performance. 
  • Find your mistakes and check the detailed explanation to know where you went wrong.
  • See where you’re losing time and what topics are giving you trouble. Then, focus your practice on those areas.

Mistake 5: Not Revising Regularly

It’s easy to forget things you’ve studied, and you’ll not even realize this. You need to understand that revising is as important as learning new concepts. In order to ensure that your mind will retain what you just read, you should revise regularly.

How to resize:

  • Dedicate a specific time each week to go back over what you’ve covered.
  • Repeatedly practice key topics and formulas until they feel second nature.
  • Make short notes for important concepts so you can easily revise when needed.

Mistake 6: Poor Time Management

A common mistake while preparing for the UPSC EPFO APFC and AO/EO exams is poor time management. You can easily spend too much time on 1 less important topic while leaving the important topics untouched.

How can you manage time efficiently? 

  • Don’t get stuck on one topic. Distribute your study time evenly to ensure all subjects are covered.
  • When you take mock tests, set a timer for each section or complete exam. This will help replicate the actual exam environment.
  • Tackle your most difficult subjects first, and later move on to practice your stronger areas.

Mistake 7: Ignoring Health and Well-Being

You must know that the UPSC EPFO exam preparation is a marathon. If you constantly push your mind to the limit, chances are it will break at some point, and you’ll lose motivation at that time. So, if you want to always perform at your best, you must prioritize your health.

Here is how you can prioritize your health:

  • Take short breaks of 5 minutes during long study sessions.
  • Add some exercise to your daily routine.
  • Practice yoga or meditation.
  • Eat a healthy diet. 
  • Get at least 7 hours of sleep.
  • Talk to your friends and family.

Conclusion

Now that you know the common mistakes aspirants make while preparing for the UPSC EPFO exam, you should use this information to create a customized study plan for yourself. Copying a study schedule of any other aspirant is another mistake. You must understand that what might work for him/her may or may not work for you. 

EPFO adds 17.21 lakh net members during the month of September 2023

 EPFO’s provisional payroll data released today highlights that EPFO has added 17.21 lakh net members in the month of September, 2023. Month-on-month comparison of payroll data shows an increase of 21,475 net members over the previous month of August 2023. Year-on-year comparison of payroll data reflects an increase of 38,262 net members over the previous year of September, 2022.

The data indicates that around 8.92 lakh new members have enrolled during September, 2023. Among these newly joined members, the age-group of 18-25 years constitutes 58.92% of total new members added during the month. This demonstrates that majority of the members joining organised sector workforce of the country are youth, who are mostly first-time job seekers.

Payroll data shows that approximately 11.93 lakh members exited but rejoined EPFO. These members switched their jobs and re-joined the establishments covered under the ambit of EPFO and opted to transfer their accumulations instead of applying for final settlement thus, extending their social security protection. As compared to the previous month, number of exits have decreased by 12.17% with 3.64 lakh exits in the month of September, 2023. The data also highlights that the number of members exiting EPFO has been declining since June, 2023.

Gender-wise analysis of payroll data represents that out of the total 8.92 lakh new members added during the month, around 2.26 lakh are new female members, joining EPFO for the first time. Also, the net female member addition during the month stood at around 3.30 lakh.

State-wise analysis of payroll data denotes that net member addition is highest in the 5 states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat and Haryana. These states constitute around 57.42% of net member addition, adding a total of 9.88 lakh members during the month. Of all the states, Maharashtra is leading by adding 20.42% of net members during the month.

Month-on-month comparison of industry-wise data displays significant growth in the members working in establishments engaged in the Sugar industry, courier services, iron and steel, hospitals, travel agencies etc. Of the total net membership, around 41.46% addition is from expert services (consisting of manpower suppliers, normal contractors, security services, miscellaneous activities etc.). 

The above payroll data is provisional since the data generation is a continuous exercise, as updating employee record is a continuous process. The previous data hence gets updated every month. From the month of April-2018, EPFO has been releasing payroll data covering the period September, 2017 onwards. In monthly payroll data, the count of members joining EPFO for the first time through Aadhaar validated Universal Account Number (UAN), existing members exiting from coverage of EPFO and those who exited but re-joining as members, is taken to arrive at net monthly payroll. 

****

10.14 lakh new members enrolled with EPFO during June 2023

  EPFO’s provisional payroll data released on 20th August, 2023 highlights that EPFO has added 17.89 lakh net members in the month of June, 2023. The data reveals that 3,491 establishments have extended social security cover of EPFO to their employees by remitting their first ECR during the month. Month-on month comparison of payroll data shows a growing trend in enrollment with an increase of around 9.71% net members over the previous month of May, 2023.The overall remittance also testifies the highest numbers in the last eleven months, since August, 2022.

The data indicates that around 10.14 lakh new members have enrolled during June, 2023 which is highest since August, 2022. Among the newly joined members, the age-group of 18-25 years constitutes 57.87% of total new members added during the month. This demonstrates an increasing trend in youth enrollment, who are mostly first-time job seekers joining the organized sector workforce of the country. 

Payroll data suggests that approximately 12.65 lakh members exited but rejoined EPFO. These members switched their jobs and re-joined the establishments covered under EPFO and opted to transfer their accumulations instead of applying for final settlement thus, extending their social security protection.

Gender-wise analysis of payroll data represents that out of the total 10.14 lakh new members added during the month, around 2.81 lakh are new female members, joining EPFO for the first time. The percentage of new female members joining the organized workforce has been highest in the last 11 months. Also, the net female member addition during the month stood at around 3.93 lakh, which is also the highest since August, 2022.

State-wise analysis of payroll data denote that net member addition is highest in the 5 states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat and Haryana. These states constitute around 60.40% of net member addition, adding a total of 10.80 lakh members during the month. Of all the states, Maharashtra is leading by adding 20.54% of net members during the month.

Month-on-month comparison of industry-wise data displays significant growth in the members working in establishments engaged in Trading-Commercial Establishments, Building & Construction Industry, Electrical, Mechanical and General Engineering Products. This was followed by Textiles, Financing Establishment, Schools, Hospitals etc. Of the total net membership, around 40.36% addition is from expert services (consisting of manpower suppliers, normal contractors, security services, miscellaneous activities etc.).

The above payroll data is provisional since the data generation is a continuous exercise, as updating employee record is a continuous process. The previous data hence gets updated every month. From the month of April-2018, EPFO has been releasing payroll data covering the period September, 2017 onwards. In monthly payroll data, the count of members joining EPFO for the first time through Aadhaar validated Universal Account Number (UAN), existing members exiting from coverage of EPFO and those who exited but re-joining as members, is taken to arrive at net monthly payroll.

****