By MARVI MEMON
Quarterly stipend increased from Rs 3000 in 2013 to Rs 4834 in 2016.
Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) has made commendable progress under the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government during the last four years highlighting its commitment to the vulnerable of the country.
The budget allocation for BISP that was Rs 70 billion in 2013 jumped to Rs 121 billion in 2017. The quarterly stipend increased from Rs 3000/quarter in 2013 to Rs 4834 in 2016.
The number of beneficiaries that were paid stipends in 2013 was 3.78 million; whereas, in 2017, 5.46 million beneficiaries have been paid stipend. Total Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) to BISP beneficiaries in 2013 stood at Rs 161.6 billion whereas total payments of Rs 515 billion have been made till 2017. In 2012-13, disbursements worth Rs 43.30 billion were made
In 2012-13, disbursements worth Rs 43.30 billion were made; whereas in 2016-2017, Rs 102.8 billion have been disbursed depicting an increase in spending on the welfare of poor by the PML-N government. The service charges were reduced from 4 per cent to 2.75 per cent during PMLN tenure which ensured billions of rupees of savings for the exchequer.
In terms of the provincial data, the current BISP beneficiaries in AJK are 104,533, Balochistan 235,759, FATA 159,047, GB 46,883, KPK 976,219, Punjab 2,022,831, Sindh 1,905,436 and Islamabad 9,537. These numbers will automatically change when the new survey which is going to be completed in 2018 will be in place.
Whilst BISP takes credit for having brought 5.4 million of the poorest women in the banking and voting systems of the country, its modes have graduated over time. The payments made through post offices, smart cards and Benazir Debit Card are being converted to payments through BVS (Biometric Verification System) and 43 districts have been converted to BVS till date.
Currently, 37 per cent of the beneficiaries are receiving payments through BVS, 60 per cent through Benazir Debit Card (BDC) and 3 per cent through Pakistan Post. During last quarterly payment, 1.9 million beneficiaries withdrew their stipend through BVS.
Moreover, donor commitments to the overall BISP budget are less than 10 per cent. The details of current donor commitments are as follows: 1- World Bank under the National Social Protection Programme has committed US$ 100 million by 2020. 2- DFID under the National Cash Transfer Programme-Tranche 2 committed US$ 130 million by 2020. 3- ADB committed US$ 94 million by Dec 2018 including 35 million allocated for BISP Graduation Programme.
The National Socio-Economic Registry (NSER), Pakistan’s only demographic directory of households in public domain, has been creating international standards in the field and is currently ranked number 5 in the world. The objective of PMLN update of NSER is to achieve a world-class position in this technical field. So far good progress has been made in achieving this milestone.
The pilot phase of survey for NSER update is underway that would be completed by August end. In ten districts door to door survey whereas in four districts desk registration approach was adopted. 90 per cent survey has been completed in these 10 districts whereas door to door survey in desk-based districts would be completed by October 2017. The survey coverage progress (Aug 15, 2017) is significantly better than the 2010 survey. So far 2,608,703 households have been covered. In Balochistan where coverage had been lower in 2010 special efforts are underway and an average of 120 per cent coverage has already been achieved.
Under the Waseela-e-Taleem (WeT) initiative, BISP has successfully increased enrollment from 23,000 children to 1.7 million children enrolled in schools across Pakistan and Rs 4.69 billion have been disbursed to the mothers of enrolled children on 70 per cent attendance compliance. 52 per cent of the enrolled children are boys and 48 per cent are girls.
BISP has transformed itself into the pride of Pakistan and is well positioned to be showcased as Pakistan’s efficient public sector organization whilst improving the lives of the most vulnerable in Pakistan. The achievements under PML-N have been widely recognized internationally. As we enter our fifth year of government we are committed to ensuring that we over-perform on targets as we have been doing consistently in last few years.
Marvi Memon is a member of national assembly and the chairperson of the BISP