Step 1: Understand the role of EPFO.
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is responsible for managing provident fund accounts of salaried employees in India.
It verifies personal details such as name and date of birth for account accuracy and pension eligibility.
Step 2: Understand the issue related to Aadhaar.
Aadhaar contains demographic details including date of birth.
However, Aadhaar does not always verify the date of birth through documentary evidence.
In many cases, the date of birth is based on self-declaration.
Step 3: EPFO’s decision regarding Aadhaar.
To avoid discrepancies and disputes related to date of birth, EPFO revised its document verification rules.
EPFO decided that Aadhaar would no longer be accepted as valid proof of date of birth.
Step 4: Identify the effective date of the change.
The official EPFO circular announcing this change was issued on January 16, 2024.
From this date onward, Aadhaar was removed as an acceptable document for date of birth verification.
Step 5: Documents still accepted by EPFO.
EPFO continues to accept documents such as birth certificate, school leaving certificate, passport, and SSC certificate.
These documents provide legally verified proof of date of birth.
Step 6: Eliminate incorrect options.
The years 2020, 2022, and 2023 do not correspond to the EPFO notification regarding Aadhaar removal.
Hence, options (A), (B), and (C) are incorrect.
Step 7: Final conclusion.
Therefore, EPFO removed Aadhaar as proof of date of birth on January 16, 2024.
Hence, the correct answer is option (D).