A two-day training programme on Investment and Risk Management for officers of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) began today at the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya National Academy of Social Security (PDUNASS), New Delhi. The event was inaugurated by Shri Kumar Rohit, Director of PDUNASS, who urged participants from across the country to actively engage and raise questions throughout the sessions.

Shri Rohit said the programme marks a timely and important initiative for the Academy to strengthen officers’ expertise in investment management and financial prudence. He credited Shri Ramesh Krishnamurthi, Central Provident Fund Commissioner (CPFC) and Dean of PDUNASS, for inspiring the initiative and guiding the Academy’s ongoing efforts towards professional development and institutional excellence.

Describing the programme as a forward-looking step in capacity building, Shri Rohit highlighted the example of Shri Vivekanand Gupta, RPFC-II, who has been selected for the Public Financial Asset Management (PFAM) Programme 2025–26 organised by the World Bank and Milken Institute at Bayes Business School, UK, as evidence of the growing international recognition of EPFO officers’ capabilities.

The sessions are being led by Prof. Satish Kumar from ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad, who is serving as the resource person. His lectures cover key topics such as institutional investments, portfolio construction, bond valuation, asset–liability management, and portfolio evaluation within the framework of risk management.

Prof. Kumar emphasised that “an asset cannot be managed if it cannot be valued,” stressing that valuation is central to all investment decisions. He also discussed the pioneering contributions of Harry Markowitz, the father of modern portfolio theory, and William Sharpe, known for the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and Sharpe Ratio—both Nobel Laureates in Economics (1990).

Shri Rizwan Uddin, RPFC-I, who serves as the Course Director, advised participants that active engagement and thoughtful inquiry would be key to achieving the programme’s learning goals.

A special team of officers from the Investment and Exemption Divisions of EPFO Headquarters has been nominated to attend the course, along with PDUNASS faculty and other officers from across India.

The programme underscores PDUNASS’s continued commitment to upskilling EPFO officers, strengthening financial governance, and promoting sound investment practices in line with global standards.