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New Delhi: The Centre may soon raise the wage ceiling and lower the headcount threshold under the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) as it aims to enhance and widen coverage for bolstering social security for workers.The current wage ceiling under the EPFO is ₹15,000 per month, which could be raised to up to ₹21,000 in line with the wage ceiling under the Employees' State Insurance Corporation. Further, the mandatory threshold in an organisation for joining the EPFO may be lowered to 10-15 employees from 20 currently. The ministry of labour and employment is currently discussing the matter with stakeholders, said people aware of the deliberations. They added that the government is keen to push the welfare measures as it prepares the ground for rollout of the Social Security Code. 115152349The talks follow strong recommendations by a steering committee set up to explore widening and deepening social security measures for workers. Last Wage Ceiling Revision in 2014 "The minister is evaluating all pending proposals, and the government feels the wage ceiling and the threshold revision under EPFO is long overdue," a senior government official said.The last wage ceiling revision took place in 2014 when it was raised to Rs 15,000 from Rs 6,500.A higher wage ceiling of Rs 21,000 would increase provident fund and bolster the pension kitty of employees. It would also increase the financial outgo of employers.Under EPFO, both the employee and employer are required to contribute 12% each to the EPF account. The entire 12% of the employee's contribution goes into the provident fund account, while 8.33% of the employer's contribution is allocated to the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS), with the remaining 3.67% flowing into the provident fund account.Another person, familiar with the proposal, said micro and small establishments were resisting lowering of the threshold from 20 employees as it could enhance their compliance burden and cost. However, the government is keen to move ahead with the proposal to ensure social security for the workforce.

Technical indicators suggest weakness in the overall market, but the Nifty may not fall sharply in the absence of major market-moving events. Stocks like Infosys, HCL Technologies, Bank of Baroda, Axis Bank, Federal Bank, Mphasis, LTI Mindtree, M&M, Tata Motors, Sobha, Syngene, and JB Chemicals have formed bullish patterns on the charts, they added.NAGARAJ SHETTI TECHNICAL RESEARCH ANALYST, HDFC SECURITIESWhere is the Nifty headed this week? A small negative candle was formed on daily chart, which indicates more consolidation in Nifty. On weekly chart, it formed a reasonable negative candle with long upper and lower shadows. The underlying trend is choppy with a weak bias. There is possibility of more consolidation or minor weakness towards the key supports of 23,900-23,800. One may expect emergence of buying again from near the supports. What should an investor do? Avoid going aggressively long. It is advised to look for buying on dips around the Nifty support of 23,900-23,800 levels, from where one may expect a sizable upside bounce. Place a stop loss at 23,700. Sectors for buy-on dips are PSU banks, IT, auto, realty, oil & gas and PSE. Stocks to look for buy on dips are Bank of Baroda, Axis Bank, Federal Bank, Mphasis, LTI Mindtree, M&M, Tata Motors, Sobha and Oil India.TANMAY SHAH RESEARCH HEAD, SIHL Where is the Nifty headed this week? Nifty may consolidate with reduced volatility. With strong support at 23,800, a close above 24,250 could trigger shortcovering, potentially opening an upside toward the 24,500 and 24,850 levels. Bank Nifty is displaying relative strength compared to Nifty, providing solid support to the index. Additionally, Nifty IT registered a strong weekly close, which may further bolster Nifty’s performance going forward. What should investors do? Investors may fi nd it prudent to adopt a stock- or sector-specifi c strategy to navigate sessions after a muted quarterly results season. Key sectors to focus on are PSU banks, chemicals, especially agrochemicals, and metals. After nearly 20-30% correction from the top, the defence sector appears to be appropriate for a riskreward setup. For stock-specifi c opportunities, we see potential in large-cap stocks such as Tata Steel, Hindustan Aeronautics and Bank of Baroda. In the midcap space, Hindustan Petroleum and PI Industries are favoured. From the small-cap segment, Aadhar Housing Finance, Syrma SGS Technology and Angel One are of interest.ARPAN SHAH SENIOR RESEARCH ANALYST, MONARCH NETWORTH CAPITALWhere is the Nifty headed this week? Nifty is currently trading volatile in 23,800–24,400 range. Until it breaks out of this zone, traders can expect this volatile momentum to continue. Bank Nifty has been trading resilient vis-à-vis the benchmark index within the 50,500-52,500 range for the last few weeks. Traders should avoid taking fresh bets on both indices till they don’t break out from their respective zones. What should investors do? Nifty IT index has closed with a bullish candlestick, and traders can add Infosys, HCL Tech and R System. The pharma sector is likely to remain resilient, and stocks like Syngene and JB Chemical can be added. SBI and Bank of Baroda are the top picks from PSU Banking. Nifty FMCG index has reached near its weekly support level, and we may witness a short term pullback in ITC and HUL. Mid and small-cap investors can look to accumulate Ritco Logistics, Polyplex, Entero Healthcare and Inox India.

For investors looking past the initial risk-on rally in US equities following Donald Trump's decisive election victory, now comes the hard part. The Republican president-elect made plenty of campaign promises: steep tariffs, tax cuts, business-friendly deregulation and tighter immigration laws, to name some. For investors who plowed into stocks last week on speculation Trump's policies will bolster the economy, the challenge is to figure out which sectors will get a lasting boost. Tariffs, for example, could spark inflation and hurt large multinational firms, while potentially helping domestically oriented small-cap stocks. However, an immigration crackdown risks lifting labor costs, likely squeezing smaller businesses. Meanwhile, a friendly stance toward traditional energy that lifts production might drive down oil prices, and efforts to reverse President Joe Biden's policies designed to help the clean-energy and electric-vehicle industries could have a hard time getting through Congress. "I expect active investors to start using a scalpel to sift through at industry levels to see which companies and industries might benefit now," said Eric Clark, a portfolio manager at Accuvest Global Advisors. "In time we will get more data points on what will actually be implemented and how to play that." Clark has already acted on some opportunities. As banks, industrials, energy and big-technology stocks pushed the equities market higher on Wednesday, he sold some tech and financial shares. He also bought stocks in luxury retail and consumer staples - which were in the red amid the surge.Clearer PictureSmall-cap stocks rallied last week, and they appear to be in a sweet spot as traders assess the potential policy backdrop ahead. These companies, which make most of their revenue at home, stand to benefit from heightened protectionism. A possible corporate-tax cut should also help. Trump has proposed a 10-20% across-the-board levy on imports, and 60% on China-made goods.