BISP budget increased to Rs 115 billion from Rs 40 billion: Marvi Memon

Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Chairperson Marvi Memon said Thursday the BISP budget has been increased to Rs 115 billion from Rs 40 billion by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who is very conscious to promote social uplift in the country. She was talking to media during her visit to the Lahore Press Club. She said BIPS was running three major projects including cash transfer, Wasila-e-Taleem and National Socio-economic Registry.
On the cash transfer project, she said the women were getting payments through debit card. Meanwhile, the withdrawal has been shifted to biometric in nine districts and the BISP is set to completely shift the cash withdrawal through biometric verification in one year period.
She said the Wasila-e-Taleem is in progress in 32 districts while a poverty survey is being conducted under the National Socio-economic Registry in 16 districts both on test and actual basis. "We are conducting test survey in four districts while conducting a door to door survey in remaining twelve districts," she said and added the BISP was not only conducting poverty but also completing survey of social standards in targeted districts. She said the BISP team was making an efficient use of technology in the survey. Chairperson BISP also introduced a new project aiming at the women empowerment, saying that beneficiaries committees had been set up to train women in this respect.