Benazir Income Support Programme: Social Protection Programme

Every country has some poor people. In Pakistan as well there are a lot poor people. So Pakistan introduced a programme through which the poor people or people those who are below poverty line will get some stipend from the government under this programme. This programme is known Benazir Income Support Programme. This programme was introduced in the year 2008 and in the month of July. This programme focusses in the various sectors. Especially they focus on the poor people those are not financially good.

The headquarter of this programme is located in F-Block, Pakistan Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan. Thus programme is controlled by the Pakistani Government. There is no chairperson of this programme. There are more than 2000 people who are taking care of this programme as an employee. So after starting this programme 2000 people got employment as well. The budget of this programme is $1.15 billion. According to the last survey total RS. 90 billion has been distributed to the eligible people. The number of people who got the benefit form this programme is 5.5 million.

Motive: Benazir Income Support Programme

The motive behind launching this programme was to maintain the financial condition of people. Moreover, it helps the people in various sectors with the stipend. Even if somebody is facing some financial issue in their education then they can get the help of the money from this programme. Now not everyone can apply for this stipend. If the person comes under the below poverty line, then they can get it otherwise there is nothing helpful for them.

Then for the social protection as well it uses and in social protection they look after the people those who are not doing and comes under below poverty line. The worst condition of people makes them eligible to get the benefits of this programme. The government just want to reduce the poverty of the Pakistani citizens and give them the financial support so they can grow in their life and the percentage of poverty line can reduce in Pakistan.

Payments and Amount: Benazir Income Support Programme

The eligible people get the monthly stipend according their financial condition. The only motive is to help those who are needy for the month. Until and unless the person will not come out of the poverty line. The amount of the stipend can change according to the year or month. Amount of stipend varies due to the inflation in the country and the economic condition of the country. According to the reports the ongoing amount of stipend is PKR 7000 per month. The receiver gets the amount directly in their account.

Procedure: Benazir Income Support Programme

The procedure of this programme is quite hectic. Whenever the person will apply for this then they need to face a long process. In this process the authorities collect all the documents and the data of the person. Along with this they also do a survey of the poor people and check their financial condition whether they are eligible for the programme or not. Moreover, they also the financial status of the person that reflects whether they are really poor or are they just faking it for the free money.

How to Receive Money?

The users can get their money from different channels. As money are not aware of some latest technologies so this programme takes care of everybody. Due to that it provides different ways to receive the money. So if the user wants to receive the money in cash then there are places made by the government form where the user can collect the cash under this programme. Then they can get their payments in their bank accounts directly. This will be an easy method for the eligible people. The another way of receiving is mobile wallet. The user can directly get the money in their mobile wallet of the online payment platforms. So whatever the method people find suitable they can opt for that.

Controversy and Restrictions: Benazir Income Support Programme

The controversy started on this programme. It was due to the problems people faced in getting money. The different governments and the corrupted people tried filling their pockets. Due to that this programme got into the trouble. Then after the international force and some meetings things got back to the normal.

Cons: Benazir Income Support Programme

This programme covered the most vulnerable and the very poor people of the nation. Apart from that there are other people as well those who are not very poor but they are financially unstable on a good level. Their condition also needs a support from the government in some ways. That is why they are getting more poor and entering the category of the extreme poor people. This is the way to get the stipend. If you are not poor, then you will not get nay help and then this will help you in becoming extreme poor. Then government will help you with the stipend. That is how government is still helping.

Eligibility Criteria

• First of all, this is a programme for women’s only. The applicant must be a woman.
• Their income should be below PKR 6000.
• Woman should be a widow. It means if there is a male person in their family who can earn will not get this scheme benefit. If the woman is divorced, then also it will work.
• An identity card is needed. It will help to get a lot of information and especially the citizenship.
• If there is somebody who has male person but he is a disable, then they can get this scheme.

Conclusion

Lastly, we want to say that this scheme did a great work. As there are a lot of women who suffers through financial conditions. The reason varies with every woman. Some gets divorced and some become widow. It strengthens the condition of the women. Moreover, it tells the society that the women are not alone and they will not be use like a puppet anymore. They can live their life with the full support and freedom. This programme faced challenges but it is going very well now and we hope that it will keep on doing this amazing work.