ISLAMABAD, Jun 30 (APP): Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection, Dr. Sania Nishtar Wednesday said Ehsaas Registration Desks would open across the country from July 15 to register those poor families who were unable to get registered during Ehsaas National Socio Economic Registry (NSER) door to door survey.
“The Ehsaas Registration Desks were closed during the last month due to the COVID-19 while the process of reopening of these desks at every Tehsil across the country will start from July 15 and complete till end of July”, she said while responding to the questions of media during a press conference, held at the One Window Ehsaas Center.
She informed that the survey comprised over two phases; first includes door to door survey through tablets and the second include opening of registration desks in the area where more than 80 percent of survey completes.
To a question regarding utilization of Ehsaas budgetary allocations for the Fiscal Year 2020-21, Dr. Nishtar said “100 percent of the Ehsaas budget has been utilized in a transparent manner to ensure the provision of Ehsaas benefits to those who deserved.
Dr. Nishtar said that the scope of `One Window Ehsaas Center’ would be expanded to 154 districts of the country to deliver services to the beneficiaries of Ehsaas multi-dimensional pro-poor schemes through a single window, a one-stop shop.
Earlier, the poor families were unable to get information and access to the benefits of Ehsaas programmes, get their eligibility and solution of their problems under one umbrella and were compelled to go to multiple offices to seek help; however, now having all these services in one center can significantly facilitate an Ehsaas Kafaalat beneficiary.
She briefed that One Window Ehsaas has six pillars including a One Stop Shop, the Ehsaas Center; a public facing digital information and services platform; mobile app; back office consolidated digital interface; Cognitive API architecture, or the integrated national socioeconomic database; and finally, the Ehsaas One-Window Beneficiary Selection and Targeting Policy.
Both Point of Sales machines and cash machines or ATMs have been placed in the One Window Center to facilitate to the Ehsaas Kafaalat beneficiaries, whose families receive stipends. Partner banks have opened their branches in the center, and NADRA office has been set up as well.
The poor families will now be able to get all the facilitation related to different programs of Ehsaas including Ehsaas stipends for children, Ehsaas Nashonuma, Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship, Ehsaas Amdan, Ehsaas Interest Free Loan, Sehat Sahulat, Ehsaas Tahafuz or PBM’s health related financial assistance systems under a single window, Dr. Nishtar said.
Ehsaas Registration Desks have been set up where people can get surveyed, to ascertain if they are eligible for Ehsaas benefits. The center would address the complaints of the people and address their needs in real time. A differently abled individual can have multiple avenues of redress in the center.
“Not only all the services have been provided in this center at one place but the processes are being simplified to facilitate the poor,” Dr. Nishtar said.
The second part of the One Window Ehsaas initiative is the digital e-portal with people centered information; this was built learning from the questions on social media about various Ehsaas programs.
The third part of this initiative is an app which mirrors information on the digital portal but in addition, it also marks locations of our service sites: Langars, Panagahs and payment sites.
The fourth part, she mentioned, 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 which would enable transparency, she explained.
The sixth pillar of One Window Ehsaas, is the Standardized Beneficiary Targeting Policy ensuring standardized beneficiary targeting using the Proxy Means Test.
After the briefing, the media personnel were given a round of the center by Dr. Nishtar wherein they explored operations of One Window Ehsaas Center and met with the staff and beneficiaries.
