Gov Approves $330 Million Additional Budget For BISP Program

The federal government has approved a $330 million (Rs92 billion) loan for Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) clients due to financial limitations.

Approval of $330M Additional Support For BISP 

The Central Development Working Party (CDWP), led by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, accepted the Integrated Social Protection Development Programme (ISPDP) concept paper, which would receive $330 million in additional funds.

انٹیگریٹڈ سوشل پروٹیکشن ڈویلپمنٹ پروگرام (آئی ایس پی ڈی پی) کے کانسیپٹ پیپر، جو کہ 330 ملین ڈالر کی اضافی فنڈنگ ​​حاصل کرے گا، کی منظوری سینٹرل ڈویلپمنٹ ورکنگ پارٹی نے دی، جس کی صدارت وزیر منصوبہ بندی احسن اقبال کر رہے ہیں۔ روپے کا احاطہ بی آئی ایس پی کے مستحقین کو نقد رقم کی ادائیگی کے لیے استعمال کیا جائے گا، جب کہ قرض کو بجٹ سپورٹ کے طور پر مرکزی بینک کے ذخائر کو بڑھانے کے لیے استعمال کیا جائے گا۔

While the loan will be used as budget support to boost the central bank’s reserves, the rupee cover will be used to pay out cash to BISP beneficiaries.

ADB will charge 2% interest on the loan.

This is crucial information: the BISP program, which earlier received a $600 million loan from ADB, has been given extra funding based on a 2% interest rate. This funding comes from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which has already given the BISP $600 million.

In terms of dollars, the ADB will charge the loan an interest rate of about 2%. Five hundred million of the six hundred million dollars have already been spent. To avoid duplication, the BISP, which targets women with families and excludes never-married women, currently provides unconditional cash payments to 9.3 million households.

The goal of BISP is to reduce poverty in every province.

Although reducing poverty is the aim of cash transfers, others argue that using foreign loans could exacerbate issues with debt sustainability because of this, especially if the money isn’t used to support revenue-generating enterprises.

Pakistan has requested that China postpone a $3.4 billion project debt because it has had difficulty meeting its commitments, which were due in October 2024 and September 2027.

330 million loan’s significance for the BISP program

The $330 million loan will cover a portion of the 2025–2028 needs. The loan is also for institutional capacity for social protection and climate resilience, according to documents from the planning ministry.

In addition to providing health care and nutritional supplies for mothers, teenage girls, and children from low-income families through the Benazir Nashonuma Program, it will be utilized to provide elementary and secondary education to children and adolescents from low-income households.

The money will be used to assist the younger generation from low-income households in choosing educational pathways that will enhance their human capital, according to the concept paper. Students’ completion of their conventional secondary education up to grade 12 will be encouraged.

BISP’s Various Initiatives to Support Women and Children

The additional financing is meant to support the BISP’s ongoing support for mothers, children, and adolescent girls, as well as to address the potential impacts of climate change on nutrition for the targeted underprivileged population.

Instead of only the 22 districts that were initially targeted, all districts in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan will now offer free health services to underprivileged pregnant and lactating mothers and children under the age of two.

In Conclusion

The government’s dedication to reducing poverty and assisting Pakistan’s most vulnerable people is demonstrated by the approval of an additional Gov Approves $330 Million Additional Budget For BISP Program. This financing will improve access to healthcare and education, increase financial aid, and address how low-income families’ nutrition is affected by climate change.