IMF Welcomes Increase in Benazir Income Support Programme Budget, Calls for Further Expansion

Islamabad:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed satisfaction over the increase in the budget of Pakistan’s Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), while also calling for further enhancements to social assistance under the scheme.

According to a private television channel, the IMF acknowledged the government’s decision to strengthen the BISP budget but emphasized the need for additional increases in financial support to protect vulnerable households.

IMF officials said the budget for the income support programme has been reinforced; however, when compared with international standards, the amount provided under the Benazir Kafalat Programme remains relatively low. They stressed that appropriate increases in benefits are necessary to maintain beneficiaries’ purchasing power amid inflationary pressures.

The report said the IMF has proposed raising Kafalat assistance to around 15 percent of consumption expenditure for low-income households and recommended regular inflation-linked adjustments to the programme’s payments.

According to the IMF, the enhanced BISP budget includes a 20 percent increase in spending on social assistance programmes, which should result in higher cash transfers under the Kafalat scheme.

The global lender further recommended increasing unconditional cash assistance from Rs13,500 to Rs14,500 and expanding the programme’s coverage to include at least 200,000 additional families.

The IMF projected that by the end of fiscal year 2026, the number of beneficiary households would reach 10.2 million, adding that further increases in Kafalat assistance should be considered following a new national household survey scheduled for 2026.

In addition, the IMF called for an expansion of the conditional cash transfer (CCT) programme and emphasized the importance of fully utilizing the allocated budget for BISP’s conditional cash transfers.