ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Dr Sania Nishtar visited six small cities and towns along the GT Road to create awareness among masses regarding the Ehsaas Rashan programme.
She went to Rawat, Mandra, Gujjar Khan, Sohawa, Dina and Jhelum. The visit was aimed at guiding Kiryana merchants in small areas about the Ehsaas Rashan enrollment process and the programme modalities.
“This week, I shall visit 30 small cities to speak to Kiryana retailers and the public. This is important to guide people on the ground about the new programme, encourage them to participate in the programme and factor in their voices in the delivery,” said Dr Nishtar.
During the visit, Dr Sania walked in mini markets along the GT Road and met with the merchants, local trader associations and the public. She also enrolled several store owners on the portal at various sites. She also spoke to local trader associations and youth in the rural areas and urged them to help merchants and low-income families in online registration.
The special assistant said the government will give five to eight percent commission to retailers on Ehsaas subsidy amount. She said there will also be a quarterly lucky draw to give away cars, motorcycles, mobile phones and various other prizes to the best performers. Dr Sania was accompanied by senior officials of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Ehsaas and district administrations of Rawalpindi and Jhelum.
With the opening of the portal, Dr Sania had also released an instructional video on the Ehsaas Rashan registration and execution. The video can be watched on the ‘Ehsaas Official’ channel on YouTube. Dr Sania also held a series of media briefings with local press and electronic media at each of the visited sites.
“Along with the deserving families, the Ehsaas Rashan portal also registers Kiryana retailers nationwide including home based Kiryana enterprises. It is compulsory for the Karyana merchants to have a bank account. Kiryana retailers without bank accounts can open their bank accounts in any branch of NBP,” she Sania.
At the NBP branch in Jhelum, she also joined a meeting with local retailers and media. She briefed that the authorised retailers having bank accounts will download ‘mobile Point of Sale’ (mPOS) App in their cell phones through which they will be able to ascertain the eligibility of the eligible buyers to deliver the subsidy.
She also informed that the government would give 5-8% commission to Kiryana retailers on Ehsaas’ subsidy amount and there will also be a quarterly lucky draw to give away cars, motorcycles, mobile phones and various other prizes to best Kiryana performers.
Under the Ehsaas Rashan programme, a subsidy of Rs. 1,000 a month will be granted to 20 million eligible families on the purchase of flour, pulses, cooking oil. Per unit purchase, a 30% subsidy will be given on these three commodities. In the current fiscal year, the budget of the programme for the next six months is Rs. 120 billion under the federal-provincial cost sharing arrangement.
