ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The federal government has increased the stipend of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) by Rs 800 per beneficiary per annum for protecting the vulnerable segments of the society.
Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, in a statement here, said that the Prime Minister had been consulted regarding increase in the stipend for BISP beneficiaries.
The annual stipend for BISP beneficiaries had been increased from Rs 18,000 to 18,800 per annum in accordance with the increase in CPI during the last year, he added.
Ishaq Dar said the decision would contribute to mitigating the effect of inflation on the BISP beneficiaries as the stipend at the enhanced rate of Rs 4,700 per beneficiary per quarter would be payable with effect from July 1, 2015.
The arrears, he said, would be paid along with the next installment and the Finance Division had already issued instructions to the BISP to ensure disbursement of quarterly stipend at the enhanced rate.
The present government, he said, was fully committed to protecting the most vulnerable segments of the society and for this purpose the annual allocation for BISP had been enhanced from Rs 40 billion to Rs 105 billion.
The annual stipends, he added, had also been enhanced from Rs 12,000 to Rs.18,000 during the last two years, which now had been to Rs 18,800 per beneficiary.
Source: APP
