Benazir Income Support Programme

The Government of Pakistan launched the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) the National Cash Transfer Programme (NCTP) in July 2008, as the premier safety net institution in Pakistan. BISP originally came into being in the face of rapid food price inflation, which saw food, grain and fuel prices reaching a 30-year highest in 2008 and the global economic downturn in 2009 which further decreased the welfare of already vulnerable households. The Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), a targeted unconditional cash transfer program in Pakistan was implemented by focusing on poor women with an immediate objective of consumption smoothing and cushioning the negative effects of slow economic growth. According to World Bank (2015) social safety net programs help reduce the poverty gap by 15% around the world. In this backdrop, the programme was designed with the core objective of consumption smoothening for the poor families and providing them cushion against negative economic shocks...