New Delhi, May 7 (IANS): The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Tuesday said that it is “actively evaluating the course of action” to be taken in response to the Karnataka High Court judgment on international workers covered under its PF and pension schemes.

“The EPFO acknowledges the recent judgment issued by the esteemed High Court of Karnataka. The judgment pertains to the specific provisions for International Workers outlined in Paragraph 83 of the Employees' Provident Fund Scheme, 1952 and Paragraph 43A of the Employees' Pension Scheme, 1995, which were deemed to be inconsistent with Article 14 of the Constitution. The EPFO is actively evaluating the course of action in response to this judgement,” EPFO said in an official statement.

India presently has social security agreements with 21 countries. These agreements ensure continued social security coverage for employees from these nations on a mutually reciprocal basis. When citizens from these countries take up employment in each other's territories, their social security coverage remains uninterrupted, EPFO explained.

These agreements aim to guarantee the uninterrupted social security coverage of employees during international employment. These agreements are very important for India for promoting International mobility and leverage the demographic dividend. The EPFO serves as the operational agency in India for such social security agreements, the statement added.