Sania starts tour of 30 cities to register retailers in Ehsaas Rashan Riayat

ISLAMABAD, Nov 13 (DNA): Creating awareness among masses on Ehsaas
Rashan programme, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty
Alleviation and Social Protection, Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar visited six
small cities and towns along the G. T. Road. She went to Rawat, Mandra,
Gujjar Khan, Sohawa, Dina and Jhelum.

The visit aimed to guide 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”, commented Dr. Sania.

During the visit, Dr. Sania walked in the mini markets on the G. T. Road
and met with the Kiryana merchants, local trader associations and
public.

She herself enrolled several Kiryana owners on the portal at various
sites. Dr. Sania was accompanied by senior officials of National Bank of
Pakistan (NBP), Ehsaas and district administrations of Rawalpindi and
Jhelum.

She also spoke to local trader associations and youth in the rural
suburbs of Rawalpindi and Jhelum and made an appeal to them to help
Kiryana merchants and low-income families in online registration.

The portal can be accessed online at: https://ehsaasrashan.pass.gov.pk/.
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”, said Dr. Sania.

At the NBP branch in Jhelum, she also joined a meeting with local
Kiryana retailers, local media and NBP team. She briefed that the
authorized Kiryana 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.

====