Rs716B Proposed for BISP in FY26 Budget

Islamabad, May 27 — The Ministry of Finance has unveiled a bold proposal to allocate Rs716 billion to the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) for Fiscal Year 2025-26, a 20 percent surge from the current Rs592.48 billion, The News reports, citing Finance Division officials. Starting January 2026, the quarterly payment will rise from Rs13,500 to Rs14,500, sustaining 10 million households while adjusting Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) Kafaalat benefits for 2025 inflation. The Finance Ministry pledged to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to maintain annual inflation adjustments, ensuring vulnerable families’ purchasing power, with benefit levels covering 15 percent of consumption for the lowest income quintile based on new household survey data.

BISP is partnering with the World Bank to bolster conditional cash transfer (CCT) programmes in education, health, and nutrition, while syncing with provincial authorities to avoid social safety net overlaps, keeping spending stable relative to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in FY26. From July 2024 to February 2025, BISP disbursed Rs347 billion, an 82.6 percent leap from last year, against the full-year allocation of Rs592.5 billion. Energy subsidies are being restructured to target the bottom 40 percent, balancing fiscal pressure and social equity, alongside public administration reforms streamlining 43 ministries and 400 departments.

The World Bank, Power Ministry, and BISP are developing income-based electricity consumer identification to replace consumption-based subsidies with targeted transfers. BISP also plans to expand its electronic payment system, offering bank accounts for savings, with pilot projects launching in select districts by FY26’s first quarter. BISP has exceeded its education CCT target of 10.4 million families by 400,000 and is on track for its nutrition CCT goal of 2.1 million in FY25, pushing to integrate eligible UCT families into conditional programmes.

Web context highlights Pakistan’s poverty challenges (e.g., 40% below poverty line, web ID: 0), while posts found on X show mixed reactions—some praise the increase, others doubt implementation efficiency. Critically, the narrative of “social equity” may overlook systemic gaps—web sources note past BISP delays, and X sentiment suggests skepticism about subsidy targeting, hinting at potential delivery challenges.