The federal government has reopened the 8171 service from today (Friday) for enrollment of families under the Ehsaas Rashan programme. 

Talking to media in Dera Ismail Khan, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection, Dr. Sania Nishtar said this service is aimed to facilitate the enrollment of those deserving families who have no access to the internet.

She said the families earning less than fifty thousand rupees a month can register themselves under the Rashan programme of Ehsaas.

Only one member of an applicant family whose cell number is issued on his personal Computerized National Identity Card can enroll his family either through web-portal or 8171 SMS service.

A monthly subsidy of one thousand rupees will be granted to every eligible family on the purchase of flour, cooking oil and pulses.

Eligibility criteria

Sania Nishatr further informed that Ehsaas Rashan Programme will cover 20 million households across Pakistan with a poverty score of less than 39 and an income of Rs 31,000 per month.

The SAPM said that as per our estimate, 60 percent population of Pakistan will be benefited from this program. “The amount can be increased along with introducing more benefits through utilizing this system,” she added.

She said that Ehsaas has gathered socio-economic data of 38 million households which has made it easier to launch new programs.