The Ministry of Labor, Government of India has informed that the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) net added 16.30 lakh customers in May this year. The Labor Ministry said that the data shows that 3,673 establishments have included their employees in the social security net of EPFO ​​in May. About 8.83 lakh new members joined EPFO ​​in May, which is the highest level in the last six months. Of the new shareholders, 56.42 per cent stake is held by employees in the age group of 18-25 years. This shows the rise in organized employment of the youth. Although about 11.41 lakh subscribers withdrew from EPFO ​​in May, but they also joined it again. This gives indications of their leaving one job and doing another job. 2.21 lakh women also got employment An analysis of payroll data shows that of the 8.83 lakh new employees who joined the EPFO ​​for the first time this month, around 2.21 lakh were women. Purely 3.15 lakh women became part of EPFO ​​in May. At the state level, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Haryana and Gujarat led in terms of net shareholders. These five states accounted for 57.85 percent of the net shareholders in the month. What is EPFO Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) was established in 1951 by the Ministry of Labor and Employment, Government of India. People are encouraged to save for retirement through this statutory body of the Government of India. The current interest rate on PF is 8.15 percent. It is possible to easily calculate the interest amount that will be credited to the EPF account at the end of a financial year. This amount is added to the employer’s and employee’s contribution at the end of the year to arrive at the total balance in the account. Private equity, venture capital investment down 23 percent in first half Investment by private equity and venture capital funds in domestic units fell by nearly a quarter year-on-year to $27.5 billion in the first half (January-June) of this year. This information has been given in the report of the Indian Venture and Alternative Capital Association (IVCA) and consulting company EY, which does public relations work for the industry. However, in terms of value, the investment is 33 per cent higher as compared to July-December last year. According to the report, in the first half of 2022, there was an investment of $ 35.9 billion. At the same time, the investment value decreased to $ 20.6 billion in the second half. The number of deals declined by 44 per cent year-on-year to 427 during the period under review. While it has decreased by 16 percent as compared to the previous half. Investment stood at $ 3.1 billion in June Vivek Soni, partner, EY, said there has been a decline in investment in startups but private equity and venture capital investments remain positive. Private equity-venture capital funds raised $10.2 billion in the first half. It is better in terms of investment activities in the coming times. According to the monthly report, investment in June stood at $3.1 billion, down 42 per cent year-on-year and nine per cent less than in May.