World Bank delegation meets BISP chairman: Increase in amount of stipend under Kifaalat initiative proposed

ISLAMABAD: Chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Dr Amjad Saqib has proposed an increase in the amount of stipend being paid to deserving women beneficiaries under the BISP’s Kifaalat initiative.

He also proposed the utilisation of services of more commercial banks, in addition to the existing ones, to facilitate the beneficiaries in receiving their stipend payments.

The BISP chairman shared these proposals on Thursday in a meeting with a delegation of World Bank (WB) led by Nicole Klingen, South Asia Regional Director (Human Development) at WB.

In the meeting, BISP and WB reiterated their commitment to continue working together to strengthen the marginalised segments of the society and ensure relief to the poorest of the poor, an official statement from the BISP said.

On the occasion, the chairperson BISP emphasised the importance of ensuring transparency, reiterating that no amount would be deducted from the stipends of women

beneficiaries, the statement said.

Discussing the challenges faced by BISP, Dr Saqib outlined his vision for new initiatives to be adopted by the programme, it added.

He also briefed the visiting delegates on BISP’s initiatives including Kafaalat, Taleemi Wazaif, Nashonuma and National Socio-Economic Registry (NSER).

Furthermore, Dr Saqib discussed the induction of new poverty graduation programmes focusing on self-reliance of these families, technical education for children, programmes for orphans and widows, and the creation of endowment funds for the needy families.

From the WB side, Nicole Klingen commended the concept of BISP and described it as a great initiative aimed at providing support to marginalised segments of society, particularly women and children, the press release said.

She also praised BISP for its impressive 10-day response time during crises such as the floods and COVID-19, it added. Klingen recognised BISP as one of the exemplary models in the field of social protection, urging others to learn from BISP’s valuable experiences, according to the statement.

The delegation head expressed the WB’s commitment to providing continued support to BISP in the future, it said.

It bears pertinence mentioning here that BISP is presently providing a quarterly stipend of 9,000 rupees per beneficiary to up to 10 million deserving beneficiaries under the Kifaalat initiative. It is not clear yet how much increase does the BISP intend to propose to the federal government in the existing stipend. BISP officials said that any increase would be proposed after financial evaluations in consultation with Finance Ministry and Cabinet Division.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023