ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan is scheduled to visit Sahiwal today (Friday) where he will distribute cheques of Ehsaas interest-free loans and Ehsaas undergraduate scholarships among beneficiaries and students.

In last one-and-a-half year, more than 42,127 borrowers including 69 per cent women have been provided Ehsaas interest-free loans to set up small businesses under the National Poverty Graduation Initiative of Ehsaas, the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD) said Thursday.

Under Ehsaas Kafaalat, 115,867 poorest households are benefitting from the monthly stipends of Rs 2,000, it said in a statement.

Payment to new Kafaalat beneficiaries will begin today (Friday), the statement added.

Since its launch in March 2019, different initiatives of Ehsaas including Kafaalat, Waseela-e-Taleem Digital, undergraduate scholarships, interest-free loans and several others have been implemented to uplift the marginalised populations, according to the statement.

Through the Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship programme, around 1,308 scholarships are being awarded to deserving students in Sahiwal Division comprising of Sahiwal, Okara and Pakpattan districts.

Till date, 18,886 primary school-going children from 9,864 poorest households are currently benefitting from the education conditional cash transfer programme, Waseela-e-Taleem Digital, which has massively been reformed under the umbrella of Ehsaas, it said.

Ehsaas Emergency Cash worth Rs 6 billion was delivered to 504,205 families of Sahiwal Division in response to Covid-19 pandemic, the statement said adding that several enhancements are being planned to expand the scale and scope of Ehsaas interventions in the next phase.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021