Government of Pakistan Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division Curtain Raiser

PM to meet Ehsaas beneficiaries in Sahiwal

January 28, 2021- Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit Sahiwal tomorrow. Amongst other engagements, he will also interact with Ehsaas beneficiaries. At the site, PM will distribute cheques of Ehsaas interest free loans and Ehsaas undergraduate scholarship among the selected number of deserving beneficiaries and students from Sahiwal Division.

Since its launch in March 2019, the different initiatives of Ehsaas- Kafaalat, Waseela-e- Taleem Digital, undergraduate scholarships, interest free loans and several others have been implemented in the area to uplift the marginalized populations. Sahiwal Division comprises of three districts: Sahiwal, Okara and Pakpattan.

The currently ongoing Ehsaas survey is 28% complete in Sahiwal Division that will provide basis for widespread social protection interventions. Once the Ehsaas survey is complete in the division, the enrollment of new Ehsaas beneficiaries will be based on eligibility verification from the new database.

To-date, 18,886 primary school going children from 9,864 poorest households in the area are currently benefitting from the education conditional cash transfer programme, Waseela-e-Taleem Digital that has massively been reformed under the umbrella of Ehsaas. In addition, Ehsaas Emergency Cash worth Rs. 6 Billion has been delivered to 504,205 families of Sahiwal Division in response to Coronavirus pandemic.

In last one year and a half, more than 42,127 borrowers (69% women) in Sahiwal Division have been provided Ehsaas interest free loans worth Rs. 1.6 Billion to set up small businesses under the National Poverty Graduation Initiative of Ehsaas. Under Ehsaas Kafaalat, 115,867 poorest households in the Division are benefitting from the monthly stipends of Rs. 2,000. Payment to new Kafaalat beneficiaries will begin tomorrow.

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

In Punjab overall, 7.704 million beneficiaries received Ehsaas Emergency Cash worth Rs. 92.4 billion; 1.59 million poorest women benefitted from Kafaalat; 1.5 million children were supported under Waseela-e-Taleem Digital; 868,627 borrowers (48% women) received interest free loans of Rs. 30 billion and 24,480 students (51% girls) were awarded Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship last year. Also, the Ehsaas digital survey currently stands 47.7% complete in Punjab and will be concluded by June 2021.

Under the umbrella of Ehsaas, several enhancements are also being planned to expand the scale and scope of Ehsaas interventions in the next phase.