2Definitions

In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,--

(a) "compulsory deposit" means a subscription to, or deposit in, a Provident Fund which, under the rules of the Fund, is not, until the happening of some specified contingency, repayable on demand otherwise than for the purpose of the payment of, premia in respect of a policy of life insurance, ¹[or the payment of subscriptions or premia in respect of a family pension fund], and includes any contribution ²*** and any interest or increment which has accrued under the rules of the fund on any such subscription, deposit or contribution, and also any such subscription, deposit, contribution, interest or increment remaining to the credit of the subscriber or depositor after the happening of any such contingency;

(b) "contribution" means any amount credited in a Provident Fund, by ³[any authority administering the Fund], by way of addition to, ⁴[a subscription to, or deposit or balance at the credit of an individual account in,] the Fund; and contributory Provident Fund means a Provident Fund the rules of which provide for the crediting of contributions;

(c) "dependant" means any of the following relatives of - a deceased subscriber to, or a depositor in, a Provident Fund, namely, a wife, husband, parent, child, minor brother, unmarried sister and a deceased son's widow and child, and, where no parent of the subscriber or depositor is alive, a paternal grand-parent;

(d) "Government Provident Fund means a Provident Fund, other than a Railway Provident Fund, constituted by the authority of ⁵ the Secretary of State, the Central Government, the Crown Representative or any State Government] for any class or classes of ⁶[persons in the service of the Government] or ⁷[of persons employed in educational institutions or employed by bodies existing solely for educational purposes,]⁸ and references in this Act to the Government shall be construed accordingly;]

(e) "Provident Fund" means a fund in which subscriptions or deposits of any class or classes of employees are received and held on their individual accounts, and includes any contributions ⁹*** and any interest or increment accruing on such subscriptions, deposits or contributions under the rules of the Fund;

¹⁰[(f) "Railway administration" means--

(i) any company administering a railway or tramway in ¹¹ any part of India] either under a special Act of Parliament ¹² [of the United Kingdom] or an Indian law, or under contract with the Government, or

(ii) the manager of any railway or tramway administered by the Central Government] or by a State Government,

and includes, in any case referred to in sub-clause (ii) the ¹³[Central Government] or the. State Government, as the case may be;]

(g) "Railway Provident Fund" means a Provident Fund constituted by the authority of a rail Way administration for any class or classes of its employees.