Benazir Income Support Programm
(BISP)
(A Social Security and Women Empowerment
Programm)
Muhammad Ishaq Shinwari
(MEP 12125)
Ministry of Commerce
Government of Pakistan
Chronology and Functions of Planning Machinery in Pakistan
 Chronology of Planning
Machinery
 Functions
 Consultation with:
 Federal Ministries / Provincial
Governments
 Development Board established in
 Donors
1948 in the EAD
 Civil Society
 Planning Board set up in 1953.
First 5 year plan prepared for
1955-60
 National Planning Board
established in 1957
 Formulation of National Plan




Annual Plan
Five Year Plan
Rolling Plan
Perspective Plan (15-25 Years)
 Project Management
 Approval of Development Projects
 Monitoring of Major Projects
 Planning Commission setup under
 Evaluation of on-going and completed
the Chairmanship of President in
projects
1959
 Association with EAD in matters of
Foreign Assistance
Planning Process
Consultations with all
private bodies attached
to different ministries
Planning Commission
• Preparation of approach paper
Consultations with all
private bodies attached to
different provincial deptt.
• Formulation of technical working
groups in all sectors
Consultations with all
Federal Ministries for
input
Sent to all Fed. Ministries
and Dev. Partners for
comments and input
Finance Division
(Resource Availability)
Panels of distinguished
persons, academia,
industry, business,
planners, political
activists, NGOs,
Professional
organizations, chambers
of industries and trade
• Preparation of sectoral chapters by
working groups
Draft
Five/
One Year
Plan
Finalization of draft plan by PC and
its presentation before
President/Prime Minister
Submission to National Economic
Council (NEC)
Circulation of approved plan to all
Provincial Govt./ Federal Ministries
for implementation
Transformation of plan into viable
projects/program
Consultations with all
Provincial Govt. for input
Sent to all Provincial
Govts. for comments and
input
Economic Affairs
Division
(Foreign aid availability)
Input from technical and
professional org.
(Fed/ Pro. Govt. WB,
ADB, IMF etc.)
PM and his team
assisted by PC
Projects Appraisal
 Technical Analysis
 based on the technical data and information given in the PC-I form as
well as the earlier experience of carrying out similar projects.
 Institutional/Organizational/Managerial Analysis
 A whole range of issues in project preparation revolves around the
institutional, organizational and managerial aspects of the project.
 Social Analysis
 Social like employment opportunities and income distribution.
 Commercial Analysis
 arrangements for marketing the output produced by the project and
the arrangement for the supply of inputs needed to build and operate
the project
 Financial Analysis
 assessment of financial impact, judgment of efficient resource use,
assessment of incentives, provision of a sound financing plan,
coordination of financial contribution and assessment of financial
management competence
Plan/ Project Approving Bodies of the Planning Machinery
 1. National Economic Council (NEC)
 PM as Chief Executive
 2. Executive Committee of National
Economic Council (ECNEC)
 Headed by the Federal Minister of
Finance/ Adviser to the Prime
Minister for Finance and Economic
and Planning.
 3. Economic Coordination
Committee of the Cabinet (ECC)
 Headed by the Federal Minister for
Finance and Federal Ministers of
economic ministries as its members. It
coordinates the economic policies
initiated by various Divisions of the
Government
 4. Central Development Working Party
(CDWP)
 Headed by the Deputy Chairman,
Planning Commission , the Secretaries
of the Federal Ministries, heads of the
Planning Departments of the Provincial
Governments as its members.
 5. Departmental Development
Working Party (DDWP/DSC)
 Headed by the respective Secretary/
Head of Department and includes
representatives of Finance Division and
concerned Technical Section in the
Planning and Development Division.
 6. Provincial Developing Working Party
 headed by the Chairman, Development
Board/Additional Chief Secretary
(Development) and includes Secretaries
of the Provincial Departments
concerned with development, as its
members
Project Monitoring
Internal Monitoring
Sponsoring Ministry
 External Monitoring
Provincial P & D Dept.
 Projects Wing at
Planning Commission
Monitoring Cells
Establishment of Planning
And Monitoring Cells in ministries
as directed by ECNEC.
Monitoring
Methodology
Results Based
Monitoring
E-connectivity through Project
Monitoring and Evaluation
System (PMES)
Project Director  Provincial P&D
Departments  Line Ministries
Planning Commission Prime
Minister Secretariat  Funding
Agencies
Mission & Objectives of BISP

Meeting the targets set by Millennium Development
Goals:

Establishment of largest & transparent Social Safety Net .
 Eradication of extreme & chronic poverty
 Empowerment of women
 BISP is model for other countries. It is based on the
MDGs.
Ban Ki-moon
Background of BISP
 During 2007, other major public safety net program were the
Ministry of Religious Affairs (Zakat Program); the Bait-ul-Mal
(Food Support Scheme); the Employees’ Old Age Benefit
Institution (social security);
 World Bank (2007) estimated 30 % poverty in Pakistan
 donor agencies assisted in the development of the National Social
Protection Strategy (NSPS) 2007
 BISP, a holistic social protection strategy initiated with donor
agencies, ADB, World Bank and UK Department for International
Development (DFID),
 The World Bank in extended significant technical assistance
regarding the program’s design
 ADB asked for quarterly progress reports on BISP implementation
to be prepared by the BISP Secretariat and submitted to it
Stages of BISP Designing and Implementation
Design Phase I
(NADRA)
2008-09
Disqualification filters: monthly
income less than Rs. 6,000,
applicant needed to possess a
CNIC,
No employment in government/
semi-government authority,
No machine-readable passport,
Not possessing agricultural
land, No other source of
income
Design Phase II
(MNAs)
Design Phase III
(poverty scorecard)
Implementation
Phase I
(MNA forms)
Implementation
Phase II
(PMT)
NADRA = National Database Registration
Authority; PMT = proxy means test.
Several classes of special beneficiaries were
identified: widowed/divorced women without
adult male members in the family; physically or
mentally challenged person in the family; and
family members suffering from a chronic
disease.
Targeting Poverty Scorecard Survey
The government sought technical assistance from the World
Bank as it was using poverty scorecard for social protection in
Latin America
First time ever in Pakistan, a Proxy Means Testing based
POVERTY SCORECARD SURVEY was conducted in the entire
country in order to improve targeting and have an objective
assessment of the poverty
Current BISP Program Cycle
Design,
management,
M&E
Targeting – PMT
Data validation
and verification
Disbursement
BISP
PPAF, PCO,
RSPN
NADRA
Smart cards,
PPO
The selected agencies were
The Population Census Organization (PCO),
the Rural Support Programm Network (RSPN)
and the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF)
Institutional and Administrative Arrangements
a). BISP established under the Ministry of Finance with a
separate Management Board
b). Advisory Council to BISP includes the President and
Prime Minister as its member. Operationally, the program
has three departments
1. Operations Wing, responsible for the program’s design
and its implementation, monitoring and grievance redressal
2. General Administration Department;
3. Finance and Accounting Department.
Data management and monitoring of the BISP is undertaken
through a comprehensive Management Information
System (MIS) that is housed centrally at NADRA in
Islamabad
Separation of Functions
To further ensure transparency BISP has adopted
following separation of functions:
Technology Based Transparency
Benazir Income Support Program is a transparent public program that is nonpartisan and is designed for reducing poverty across Pakistan. The program is
receiving praise and recognition in the international community.
Ex President World Bank, Robert B.Zoellick
Targeting
Verification
PMT based Poverty Scorecard
Survey using GPS.
Through State of the Art NADRA
Database
Payments
Smart Card/ Mobile Banking/
Branchless Banking.
Grievance
Redressing
Solutions based management
information system
Donor’s Support
WB, ADB, USAID
Due to the transparency, objectivity and efficacy of the program,
international financial institutions and donor agencies have
shown full trust in BISP.
World Bank funded Social Safety Net Technical Assistance
worth (US$ 60 million) USAID support for cash grants – US$ 160
million Asian Development Bank support for cash grants –
US$ 150 million
BISP Initiatives
BENAZIR SMART CARDS distributed among the beneficiaries
Mobile Phone Banking has also been started in selected
districts
Mobile phones distributed in pilot district free of cost.
Cash grant of Rs.2,000/- every alternate month
Beneficiaries: up to 5.5 million families
Total Cash Grant Disbursements: more than Rs.70 Billion
Waseela-e-Haq (interest-free financial assistance )
 Long-term interest-free financial assistance of Rs.300,000,
along with basic training & counseling, to randomly selected
(computerized balloting) beneficiaries for small businesses
 Based on the premise that marginalized families have skills, which
remain unutilized and untapped
 Alternative to the conventional banking system, which rejects the
poor classifying them non-creditable.
 Based on personal trust instead of any collateral.
1- Identification
of business.
3- Necessary
training required
to execute the
identified
business.
2- Counseling
regarding choice
of business.
4- Monitoring and
evaluation of
business. *
Waseela-e-Rozgar (vocational training)




Beneficiary or her nominee
Choice of training
Boarding lodging facilities
Demand driven free technical and vocational training offered
to one individual of beneficiary family
 Duration of training is: 4 weeks, 3-6 months and one year
 Certificate based skill as well as in-house or product based
training
 Domestic as well as international market demand has been
ascertained through Ministry of labor and Manpower
Waseela-e-Sehet (Health Services)
 to Improve access to health services and reducing
income loss
 Life Insurance of Rs. 100,000 provided to the bread
earner of the beneficiary’s family.
 1 million beneficiary families have been provided life
insurance
 Health and Accident insurance cover will be provided
to all members of beneficiary's families
 Maximum benefit cap of Rs.25000/- per family per
year
 Benazir Health Cards (Biometric cards ) are COMPUTERIZED
issued
to
DEDUCTION
FROM THE
enrolled families
ACCOUNT
OF USER
Wseela-e-Taleem (education support)
• cash transfer program for the primary
education of the children aged 5-12 years (3
younger children)
• BISP provide cash transfers while families
agree to send and retain their children in
primary schools
• BISP’s data (poverty scorecard survey) shows
that over 71% children of its beneficiaries
have never attended a school
Impact of BISP
 moving from general subsidies towards targeted cash grants
 As of today, more than 27 million households have been surveyed,
 7.2 million families have qualified the PSC eligibility,
 4.7 million families are receiving income support in the form of
monthly cash benefits of PKRs 1000 ($12)/ benefiting more than 20
million people directly
 disbursed more than US$1 billion in the form of cash grants to 4.7
million families,
 empowering women by disbursing the cash only to the female
 encouraged women to register with the NADRA for NIC
Cont.….
 it can potentially open avenues for women’s socio-economic and political
empowerment
 credible foundation for a national poverty registry . Spot-checks show the
accuracy rate of the poverty scorecard survey as 95.4 %
 microfinance in the form of returnable interest-free loans up to Rs.300,000
to families selected through a monthly computerized random draw, for
setting up of small businesses.
 So far 41 draws held and a total of Rs.40,868 beneficiaries have been
declared eligible. A total of Rs.1.8 billion have been disbursed up to March
2013
 payment through debit cards was initiated in April 2010,
 presently making these electronic payments to about 800,000 families
Cont.….
 issued 700,000 Watan Cards (pre-loaded cards) under the government's
poverty alleviation scheme to make flood relief payments in 2011
 Continuous support of the donors
 Given the success of BISP the WB approved additional US$150 million for
education initiative of the program
 BISP is a transparent program. Ex President WB, Robert B.Zoellick
 In the next 3 years, BISP is expected to cover about 7 million poorest families
 The Floods Emergency Cash Transfer (FECT) Project, which supports the
government’s Citizen’s Damage Compensation Program (CDCP), is reaching out
to more than one million households (roughly 9.5 million people), affected by
2010 floods
Thank You