ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has launched Ehsaas Mobile Saving Wallets ((Ehsaas Bachat Bank Account) initiative designed to ensure financial and digital inclusion of women.

Addressing the ceremony after inauguration of the programme, the prime minister said that the Ehsaas programme was recognised as fourth-most successful programme world over for providing safety net to the low-income group especially daily wagers in the Covid pandemic.

The prime minister added that millions of people have gone into poverty across the world during the Covid and Ehsaas was recognised as the fourth-most successful programme.

The prime minister said that 24 percent population of the country lives below the poverty line and there was no discrimination in Ehsaas programme with any one on political basis, and no on was being benefited or deprived on political basis.

He said that financial inclusion of women under the programme would help reduce the poverty and Bachat account would enable the women to better utilise the cash assistance being provided to them.

He expressed the hope that saving account would also be a successful programme like other programmes of Ehsaas.

He said that no country can become great as long as it does not take care of its weakest segment of the society and the state of Medina was a great example for the country and the government has been trying to protect the weakest segment.

Earlier, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Dr Sania Nishtar updated various initiatives either had been taken or are in the pipeline to protect the vulnerable.

She said that the social safety net would be further expanded and one-window facility be opened at Tehsil level to integrate all Ehsaas programmes under one roof.

Dr Nishtar said the first one window facility will soon be opened in Islamabad.

She said Ehsaas Saving Wallets will prove to be an important milestone for the economic empowerment of the women.

She added that this programme has been framed keeping in view the best international practices.

Dr Nishtar said that 80 percent work on the national survey has been completed and one-window operation would be made operational soon. Financial and digital inclusion of seven million households is one of the seven goals of the Ehsaas Strategy.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021