National Savings Director General Zafar M Sheikh on Thursday said the Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) is planning to launch two new products: registered prize bonds and children protection certificates. Talking to reporters here at regional office, Sheikh said the drafts of both the schemes have been sent to the CCP for consideration and approval.
He said at present the CDNS is offering bearer prize bonds. The owner has no claim if they are lost, he said. However, ‘registered prize bonds’ will be in the name of the purchaser and no one other than the owner can claim the holdings. The prize bonds are transferable, if needed. The ‘children protection certificates’ are for a period of 7 years. The DG said he had given a unique idea of utilising the NSS as a major source of funding for nation-building projects as the same was being done by savings banks of Turkey, Brazil, Argentina and other South American countries. About Motorway, he said it was a big project and seemed difficult to start considering financial constraints. However, if the option of funding the project through national savings is taken into account, the project can be materialised. He said the main objective of the NSS was to encourage people to adopt habit of saving. He said National Savings was successfully motivating people to invest in the lucrative savings schemes across the country. The saving ratio in the country has been improved from 9 percent to 13 percent. However, it should be at least 20 percent, he added. He said the Directorate was also planning to launch ‘Islamic instruments’ to attract the segment of society, which likes Riba-free investment and financing. He said the CDNS was also preparing some schemes for overseas Pakistanis. He emphasised the need for lifting ban on recruitment which was imperative to further improve CDNS services. The shortage of staff was causing immense problems in launching new projects and it has been decided to appoint some 1,200 persons after removal of the ban. The present staff is extremely overburdened, he added.
