19 essential commodities: Subsidy being provided to the poor, PM told

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was informed that subsidy is being provided on 19 essential commodities to the poor through the Ramazan Relief Package.

The prime minister presided over a meeting on the Prime Minister’s Ramazan Relief Package and the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) on Thursday.

The meeting was informed in detail about the Prime Minister’s Ramazan relief package. The meeting was told that a Ramazan relief package worth Rs 7.5 billion is being provided to the poor and middle class in Ramazan this year, which includes 19 food items including flour, pulses, ghee, edible oil, sugar, and beverages being provided at a lower price than the market.

Ramazan package: Rs6.48bn allocated

The meeting was further informed that the rate of subsidy given in the Prime Minister’s Ramazan package this Ramazan is 30 per cent which is higher than the rate of inflation in the country.

In the briefing, it was also informed that more than 39.6 million families are being provided with the Prime Minister’s Ramazan Relief Package, which includes almost all the poor and low-income middle-class people of the country. Moreover, those who have come to get the Prime Minister’s Ramazan Relief Package will be provided registration facility on the spot, in case of registration problems under the current system. Apart from this, a coordinated and effective system has been established for the redressal of the complaints.

While on BISP, the prime minister was informed that with the special efforts and attention of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the quarterly amount to the poor and deserving families registered under BISP has been increased to Rs10,500.

The prime minister issued instructions that the immediate distribution of amounts should be ensured to the deserving people in the month of Ramazan itself.

Apart from this, the prime minister directed that deserving families of Balochistan who are registered under the BISP should be distributed a quarterly assistance amount of Rs10,500 and an additional Rs2,000.

The prime minister further directed that a nationwide awareness campaign should be conducted regarding the distribution of the Ramazan relief package so that the deserving people would not only have access to information about this but also that this package could reach as many eligible deserving people as possible.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024