A SAVINGS account can be opened at any National Savings Centre (NSC) where a person has made an investment in any of the schemes. A chequebook withdrawal slip is issued to the investor and the profits accrued on the certificates are automatically linked/deposited in the person’s savings account. The investor can deposit the withdrawal slip of any amount at any time, and the amount is credited to their personal bank account. This relieves the investor from the hassle and physical presence to collect his profit from the NSC, and the pressure on the staff is also reduced to a considerable extent.

This procedure is followed in other cities, but not in Karachi where the facility is only extended to the Behbood Savings Certificates.

Since there is an upper limit for Behbood investments, many people have made investments in Behbood as well as in other schemes.

To my knowledge, the facility of opening a bank account for regular income certificates is made mandatory in all NSCs in Islamabad and other cities. One fails to understand why the people of Karachi are being deprived of this facility.

Amid a surge in Covid cases, especially in Karachi where the positivity rate is the highest in the country, a uniform policy should be adopted by National Savings centres throughout the country. The ministry concerned should look into the matter and offer across-the-board facility to the investors in Karachi as well.

Shamim Sagheer
Karachi

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2022