Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) Chairperson and Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation Dr. Sania Nishtar has said that Prime Minister Imran Khan will inaugurate the interest-free loan program for unemployed people this month.
She said that the third prong of the Ehsaas Program, the poverty alleviation initiative, involves providing employment to the poor people and the first scheme under this program will be launched in June by the Prime Minister.
“The scheme is to provide interest-free loans to unemployed people. These are the people who are sitting unemployed. The program also includes small asset transfer to the beneficiaries which includes livestock, agriculture equipment etc,” she said.
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The Special Assistant to PM announced this in a press conference. She elucidated the efforts of the present government for the social protection and welfare of the poor people, labor force in the informal sector, overseas Pakistani laborers, and employment generation for the poor people.
Nishtar further said that the government has launched two new programs, Kifalat and Tahafuz, under Ehsaas program. Kifalat involves providing seven million women a quarterly stipend along with the opening of saving bank accounts for them.
Moreover, the government is planning to give more mobile phones to poor families under the mobile handset policy, as it will open up a lot of venues for economic autonomy. She said that with the help of bank account and a mobile device, the beneficiary will be able to benefit from the initiatives launched under the third pillar of Ehsaas called solution and innovation policy.
The BISP Chairperson underlined that imparting financial literacy and education to the beneficiaries is important to enable them to use the bank accounts and mobile set. The government is working with the State Bank and the private banks to provide these women with the education to use bank accounts.
The second program is Tahafuz, a shock-oriented precision safety net designed for people who are facing some mishap like diseases, death, calamity, or court case. The program will be implemented in September. Under Tahafuz, wheelchairs and other disability-related equipment will be provided to the people with disabilities.
