Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) in collaboration with State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has decided to provide mobile banking facility to its beneficiaries to ensure transparency in funds distribution. The BISP has distributed over 200,000 mobile phone sets in the first phase among its beneficiaries in Larkana, Layyah, Barkhan and Batagram districts and the programme would be expanded to other parts of the country as well, sources in BISP revealed to Business Recorder on Tuesday.
They said that the SBP is co-operating with BISP introducing mobile banking to ensure transparent money transaction to BISP beneficiaries. Mobile phones have been gifted by various banks and cellular phone service providers to help those in need to have easy approach to the funds they are being provided by government for their welfare, they said.
They said that it would not only make the process of distribution transparent, but also help introduce a new trend of mobile banking in the country. BISP has also introduced Benazir Smart Card in Mianwali, Multan, Mirpur Khas and Sanghar districts, sources said.
The key objective of BISP is to provide support to people living under poverty line, empower women and provide education and health facilities to the children, they said. They said the main purpose of the poverty survey is to provide equal opportunities to all the citizens and it will certainly help in making the country a welfare state.
They said that the BISP has devised five, 10 and 15 year plans to eradicate the poverty and bring the women folks of the country in limelight to take active part in economic development of the country. BISP sources also said that cash grants of Rs 54 billion were disbursed among 2.2 million beneficiary families in the first phase of the programme, as the beneficiaries were identified through parliamentarians. Rs 6.4 billion have so far been disbursed among 386,174 eligible families countrywide, as a result of identification through on-going nation-wide poverty survey, which is second phase of the programme as well, they added.
They said that these families include 3,918 in AJK, 13,706 in Balochistan, 6,164 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 43,276 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 186,568 in Punjab and 132,542 families in Sindh. In view of the government's commitment through "Aghaz-e-Huqooq-e-Balochistan" BISP conducted survey in 22 targeting districts of Balochistan and survey will be carried out in the other districts soon after improving law & order situation, while work on poverty Survey in FATA will be started this month, the meeting was apprised, they maintained. In all the districts, where the survey is being undertaken, the notables, parliamentarians and all other concerned are being taken on board during the whole process, they said.
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