ISLAMABAD: The Ehsaas 8171 SMS service to register low-income families for Ehsaas Rashan Riayat programme is reopening today (Sunday). “Keeping in view the keen interest of people, we have decided to reopen the Ehsaas 8171 SMS service so that more deserving families can benefit from the Rashan Riayat programme of Ehsaas”, said Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Senator Dr Sania Nishtar.

Families with monthly income less than Rs 50,000 can enrol themselves by simply sending their CNIC to 8171. Only one member of an applicant family whose mobile number is issued on his/ her own computerised national identity card (CNIC) can register his family through 8171.

“The formal roll out of the programme in partnership with National Bank of Pakistan is just on the anvil. In this regard, all arrangements are ready,” stated Dr Sania. Till the portal closed on January 26, 2022, under the first phase of registration, 19.5 million applications were received out of which 9.3 million unique families were identified. Eligibility of these families is currently being verified through Ehsaas Survey Registry and Data Analytics and some have already started receiving eligibility messages from 8171 confirming their eligibility and are starting to utilize the Ehsaas Rashan subsidy.

Under the programme, 30 per cent targeted subsidy will be granted on monthly basis to 20 million eligible families on the purchase of flour, pulses, cooking oil or ghee. Overall, 130 million people will benefit from the programme countrywide that is around 53 per cent of the country’s population.

Provincial Governments of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) are participating in the Ehsaas Rashan Riayat programme.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022