ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday said that 30 per cent of the population was living below the poverty line, which translates to almost 55 million people in Pakistan.
Iqbal in a written reply to the Senate said that the latest estimates based on 2013-14 data dictated that this was down from 63.7 per cent, adding that the government had taken various steps – such as steering the economy to higher growth path and making economic growth more inclusive and sustained – to reduce poverty and income inequality.
He said outreach of social safety nets was extended to over five million people which represented over 16 per cent of the population, adding that the amount of cash transfers under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) to the poorest of the poor was increased from Rs 1,000 per month in 2013 to Rs 1,500 per month in 2015.
Besides enhancing allocations for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) to improve distributional mechanism, the minister said the government had reduced incidence of indirect taxation and broadened the base of income tax. Widening the access to quality services like endowment fund for education and up scaling nutrition was also included in these steps, he added.
Iqbal said that under a merit-based recruitment system, the Prime Minister’s Health Insurance Programme has been launched to extend the coverage of health services and added equality of opportunities for all segments of society
He said that besides reforming and strengthening institutions for better delivery of public services to people, skill development and self-employment schemes had been revamped through the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme.
