By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that besides financial assistance of the downtrodden segment, the present government’s foremost priority was to make the people economically self-reliant.
He said it was for the first time in Pakistan that a comprehensive strategy has been formulated to steer the economically weaker segments of society out of poverty.
The Prime Minister expressed these views while presiding over a high level meeting of Kamyab Pakistan Programme here. He also cited the examples of China and India and said that unlike India which failed, China successfully steered millions of people out of poverty during the last 30 years.
Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin, Special Assistants to PM Waqar Masood, Usman Dar, Chairman Naya Pakistan Housing Authority Lt. Gen. ® Anwar Ali Haider, Chairman Habib Bank Sultan Ali Alana, President Punjab Bank Zafar Masood and concerned senior officers and stakeholders attended the meeting.
The meeting was briefed about including the Kamyab Business, Kamyab Kissan and Kamyab Hunarmand programmes under the Kamyab Jawan Programme and whole-sale lending for the Low Cost Housing Schemes and Kamyab Pakistan Housing in Kamyab Pakistan Programme.
It was told that Kamyab Pakistan Programme will play an important role in enhancing economic activities in the country and making people self-dependent in terms of employment.
Under the programme, new applicants will be provided business, low-cost housing and agricultural loans at large scale, which will not only provide job opportunities but besides promoting business activities will also help alleviate poverty, boost GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth and strengthen banking sector.
Besides, Mr. Khan also inaugurated the first One Window Ehsaas Centre in Islamabad as the federal government will establish such centres in all districts of the country.
PM Imran Khan inaugurated the first physical One Window Ehsaas Centre in Islamabad and also planted a sapling in the centre’s premises. He is accompanied by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Dr Sania Nishtar, Senator Faisal Javed and others.
Sania Nishtar briefed the premier regarding the operations of the Centre from where the nationals will get all facilities and services under one roof.
After global recognition of the Ehsaas programme, the federal government has decided to digitalise the poverty alleviation initiative by launching a one-window centre to facilitate deserving people.
While addressing the occasion, PM Imran Khan said that it is the foundation of the welfare state. He said that the authorities could be able to target subsidies to the deserving people after collecting the accurate database.
He praised the efforts of Sania Nishtar and his team for bringing the Ehsaas programme’s facility under one roof.
One Window Ehsaas Centre
Under the Ehsaas data reform, all federal Ehsaas implementing agencies will now be able to access data from the 2021 Ehsaas National Socio-economic Registry through APIs with no cost at all. This two-way data sharing will also enrich the data repository while data integration will also enable transparency.
Agencies will be able to see what benefits an individual or the family are getting, and the entitlements they have in terms of various Ehsaas programs, according to the press release.
With One Window Ehsaas, the federal government has aimed to deliver services through a single window to facilitate a poor family that is not aware of the benefits they are entitled to and, if they are aware, they have to go to multiple offices to seek help.
It has six pillars including a One Stop Shop, the Ehsaas Center; a public-facing digital information and services platform and a mobile app which is a back-office consolidated digital interface.
Moreover, the Cognitive API architecture or the integrated national socioeconomic database and finally, the Ehsaas One-Window Beneficiary Selection and Targeting Policy.
There are many programs for 14 different target groups under the Ehsaas umbrella.
The first One Window Ehsaas Centre has been inaugurated by PM Khan in Islamabad’s Sitara Market today where all the services can be accessed in one place.
To facilitate Ehsaas Kafaalat beneficiaries, whose families receive stipends, both Point of Sales machines, as well as cash machines or ATMs, have been placed in the centre while the partner banks opened their branches in the centre, and the NADRA office has also been set up.
Someone, looking for a livelihood opportunity can visit Ehsaas Amdan and Ehsaas Interest-Free Loan Desks.
A person in need of financial assistance for health can find out about Sehat Sahulat and, if not entitled in Sehat Sahulat or not in an empanelled hospital can be channelled to Ehsaas Tahafuz or PBM’s health-related financial assistance systems.
Somebody wanting to spend a night in Panagah can book a bed and get a free One Star bed and breakfast facility. People can admit a child to an orphanage, and a young woman can get information and be admitted to a vocational centre. A street child can be admitted to one of our free schools.
Ehsaas Registration Desks have been set up where people can get surveyed, to ascertain if they are eligible for Ehsaas benefits while dashboards, display information relevant to people’s needs and complaints are addressed in real-time.
Ehsaas Registration Desks have been set up where people can get surveyed, to ascertain if they are eligible for Ehsaas benefits while dashboards, display information relevant to people’s needs and complaints are addressed in real-time.
There is also a beneficiary retiring room, in case a woman comes with a child and needs to feed her.
A differently-abled individual can have multiple avenues of redress in the centre. Processes are being made simpler so that they can get a disability card made with ease.
In the same disability room, NGOs are given space to provide free prosthesis and orthoses. Also, a customised wheelchair can be ordered.
The second part is the digital e-portal with people-centred information; this was built learning from the questions on social media about various Ehsaas programs.
The third part of One Window Ehsaas is an app that mirrors information on the digital portal but in addition, it also marks locations of our service sites: Langars, Panagahs and payment sites.
When opened from a mobile, an individual can be navigated to the address. This app is enabled with a camera, which allows a photograph to pick the geolocation of an Ehsaas social welfare site to be mapped.
The fourth part is the integrated digital interface facing the back office, which facilitates access of all those working in the Ehsaas ecosystem to appropriate links and resources.
The fifth component of One Window Ehsaas is the integrated database.
The sixth pillar of the centre is the Standardized Beneficiary Targeting Policy. The information needed to generate the score comes from the National Socioeconomic Survey. In the one window policy, specific PMTs were stipulated for each program and a policy devised to do away with duplications.
