Ehsaas Amdan Program: Online Registration & Eligibility Criteria

Are you struggling to make ends meet and hope for even better lives for your family? The Ehsaas Amdan Program is a unique program established by the Government of Pakistan to create opportunities for the most vulnerable people in society, to give them the tools to build and maintain income-generating livelihoods.

Ehsaas Amdan is not a cash handout; it is a hand-up by providing productive assets to operationalize a pathway out of poverty and dependence on social assistance, towards self-sufficiency. The program is helping thousands of families across the country to build their small businesses and to earn a decent living wage.

Ehsaas Amdan Program Eligibility Criteria

The Ehsaas Amdan Program targets the ultra-poor and vulnerable individuals identified by the government’s National Socio-Economic Registry (NSER) survey. The core objective of the program is to provide a legitimate source of income for people who are at the margin of making ends meet, with a particular focus on women and youth.

Eligibility Requirement	Details
Poverty Score	Must have a low poverty score as determined by the NSER survey.
Income Level	Your monthly household income must be below the specified poverty line.
Citizenship	Must be a Pakistani citizen holding a valid CNIC.
Location	The program is implemented in specific, predefined rural districts across all four provinces.

Key Features

Productive Assets: Instead of cash assistance, the program will provide real assets that will support income generation. These assets are in the form of livestock (goat, cow, buffalo, poultry), agricultural inputs, auto-rickshaw bodies, and stock for micro retail businesses.
Women and Youth Empowerment: A large share of the productive assets will be provided to women and youth to ensure their participation in the formal economy, their independence, and their mobility.
Transparency in Pilot: The program is also adopting international best practice in humanitarian programming and embedding technology into the process, and as a completely transparent process for reaching beneficiaries and selections. Beneficiaries are identified through scientific poverty data sets, and it is nearly impossible to selectively (&/or) exert influence on who receives assistance.

Also Read: BISP Sahulat Account Payment System

How to Apply

The Ehsaas Amdan Program identifies beneficiaries predominantly through a comprehensive household survey conducted by the Government. The program is not based on an on-demand general application; therefore, you can only check your eligibility and your application status through the official Ehsaas 8171 Web Portal and/or by sending your CNIC number to 8171 through SMS.

Checking Your Status through SMS: Send your 13-digit CNIC number without dashes via SMS to 8171. You will receive an SMS reply confirming your eligibility status.
Checking Your Status through the Web Portal: Simply visit the official 8171 Ehsaas Portal. Enter your CNIC and check it to see if you are a beneficiary.
Wait for the Survey: If you are eligible for the program and live in a registered district, an Ehsaas team may visit your house to conduct the survey detailing their survey’s poverty score.

Final Words

The Ehsaas Amdan Program is a splendid move towards creating a proper welfare state in Pakistan. It has given these people not just a way out of poverty, but has also provided them with the means to be self-sufficient. Allowing these individuals means of sustenance has allowed them long–term economic benefits, which in the short and long term will create a positive impact on thousands of people‘s lives.

FAQs

Q1. What kind of assets does this program provide?
A: The program provides various income generation/ productive assets, including livestock, agricultural inputs, auto-rickshaws, and materials for small businesses.

Q2. How are beneficiaries selected?
A: The beneficiaries of the program are selected based on the poverty score from the National Socio-Economic Registry (NSER) survey. Community consultations are also included in the selection process.

Q3. Are there any fees to apply for the Ehsaas Amdan Program?
A: There are no application or processing fees for the program. All assistance is available to eligible families at no charge.

Q4. Can I apply to live in a city?
A: The program‘s target group is vulnerable households within predefined rural districts. As such, the assets given have been designed specifically for these rural households and the context.