The registration of deserving families for the Ehsaas Ration Program will begin from Monday, as per an announcement by the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection, Dr. Sania Nishtar.
She stated at a press conference in Islamabad on Thursday that families with a monthly income less than Rs. 31,000 will be eligible for it.
“A web portal would be developed for this purpose. The families who will be considered eligible will be able to obtain items of daily use like flour, oil, sugar, and pulses at subsidized rates from Utility Stores and retail stores (kiryana shops),” she said and added that the ration could be obtained at subsidized rates even from small retail stores.
Dr. Nishtar explained that the Ehsaas National Socio-Economic Registry survey is complete and its findings will be used to identify the deserving families for the program.
She highlighted that 20 million families will be registered under the Ehsaas Ration program which aims to benefit 60 million people and that the process will be completed within three to four weeks.
“The beneficiaries will need a mobile phone number registered on their Computerized National Identity Card which will be produced before the specific stores from which purchases on subsidized rates will be sought,” she said.
Dr. Nishtar added that each family will receive a subsidy of Rs. 1,000 per month, and clarified that the amount can be carried to the next month if it is not fully utilized.
The SAPM said that the authorities will physically verify the retail stores that want to register for the Ehsaas Ration program. Each owner will need to have a valid bank account to receive the subsidy amount.
The stores will also get a profit as an incentive for the provision of subsidized food items to as many poor people as possible, she said.
