PSPA Punjab Social Protection Authority Govements New Programs

Punjab Social Protection Authority (PSPA)

PSPA Punjab Social Protection Authority is an official organization of the Government of Pakistan in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Its main objective is to improve the welfare of the residents of Punjab. To achieve this objective, this organization prepares and implements social security programs. PSPA provides support to vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals and families in Pakistan and takes steps for their betterment.

PSPA designs and implements targeted social safety net programs to reduce poverty, inequality, and social exclusion in Pakistan. Under these programs, poor and disadvantaged individuals and families are given cash transfers, vocational training is given, their health is taken care of, and steps are taken to educate their children.  Apart from this, the Punjab Social Protection Authority also focuses on empowering the women of Punjab and increasing their access to economic opportunities.

Punjab Social Protection Authority tries to create a more inclusive society through its initiatives where every individual is provided with equal opportunities and a dignified standard of living. It seeks to collaborate with various government departments, non-governmental organizations, and international partners to ensure better implementation and monitoring of social security programs in society. So that social facilities can be provided to all the backward people and families of Punjab.

Overall, the Punjab Social Protection Authority plays an important role in dealing with social challenges in the Punjab province of Pakistan and promoting social welfare in Pakistan. The purpose of creating PSPA is to provide facilities to the lower-class people in the province of Punjab and provide them with their basic rights.

What does PSPA Do?

• Rashan Riayat Program
• Masawaat Program
• Sila-e-Fun Program
• Foreign Funded Program
• Ba-Himmat Buzurg Program
• Nayee Zindagi Program
• Zewar-e-Taleem Program
• Humqadam Program

Rashan Riayat Program

Punjab Social Protection Authority has implemented the Ehsaas Ration Program in Punjab. It is a social security program. The aim of this is to provide assistance to weak families in Punjab so that their lives can be improved. The purpose of making this program is to solve the problems of food insecurity in Punjab so that poor families in Punjab can get adequate and nutritious food easily.

Under this program, those people who are living in extreme poverty are targeted and they are facing problems in buying essential food items.  As inflation is increasing, the problems of selling food items to the poor are increasing. Beneficiaries are identified through a transparent and merit-based system under the Ehsaas Ration Program and their nutritional assistance is provided.

Ehsaas Rashan Program

The Punjab government has taken steps to reduce the effects of inflation on the poor since the launch of the Ehsaas ration program. Under this program, a monthly subsidy of 2000 rupees per family is provided to eligible families on the prices of selected food items such as wheat, ghee, and pulses to low-income families.

In this way, families can get up to 40% discount on the purchase of food items through the network of Kareena Stores and CSDs supported by Ehsaas Ration Subsidy. 8 million families will be helped under the Ehsaas Ration Program in Punjab.

To guarantee effective food assistance distribution, the PSPA works with a variety of stakeholders, including government organizations, non-governmental organizations, and business sector partners. It also places a strong emphasis on utilizing technology and data-driven strategies to enhance program targeting, monitoring, and evaluation.

The Government of Pakistan’s Ehsaas social protection structure, which includes the Ehsaas Rashan Riayat Programme, is more comprehensive. It is consistent with the government’s objective to reduce poverty and enhance the well-being of society’s most vulnerable groups.

How To register?

Families who deserve it registered through the channels below.

• CNIC (Id Card) number SMS at 8123 through registered mobile number.
• Web portal at https://ehsaas.punjab.gov.pk
• Kindly Visit the E-Khidmat Markaz along with CNIC.

Masawaat Program

In Pakistan’s Punjab province, PSPA has launched an equality program under the Transgender Person Welfare Policy. Under this program, a program consisting of unconditional money transfers, employment opportunities, and microcredit has been started for the elderly and differently-abled eunuchs to promote their businesses. 

Under this program, 3000 rupees per month is transferred for elderly transgender and 2000 rupees per month for disabled transgender persons. This amount can be obtained from the HBL Connect agent. Transgender women are generally excluded from public services and programs due to which they face a lack of education, health, livelihood, and housing facilities.

•  Steps have been taken under this program to improve the health of transgender people.
• Steps have also been taken to educate them.
•  All Registered Transgenders (TGPs) in Punjab can get interest-free loans under the PSPI program to run their small businesses.
• Various and accessible medical camps for screening, treatment, and medication for TGPs will be organized with the help of departments and private sector companies under this program.

Sila-e-Fun Program

Sila-e-Fun Program is a project run by Pakistan’s Punjab Social Protection Authority (PSPA).

There was no social pension scheme for the elderly in Pakistan, to fill the gap, the Sila-e-Fun Program was started by the Punjab Social Protection Authority. Sila-e-Fun Program is an unconditional cash transfer program that PSPA launched in all 36 districts of Punjab.

Under this program, a dignified social pension will be provided to senior artists, writers, poets, and media persons who have served in a field for more than 25 years. Who have performed their services in the fields of TV film, literature, poetry, journalism, music, letters and painting, etc. 5000 rupees per month will be provided to artists above 50 years of age whose income is less than 15 thousand rupees.

Purpose of Sila-e-Fun Program

  The objective of the Sila-e-Fun project is to improve the economic and social welfare of the aging and financially weak artists of Punjab who are or have been rendering outstanding services in their respective fields.

This program launched by PSPA in Punjab has the following objectives:

•   To encourage elderly and financially weak artists living in Punjab by providing dignified social assistance to them.
•   To improve their social inclusion.
• To improve the livelihood of the needy artists and the poor elderly so that they can live their lives well.
•   This program was started to reduce the economic dependence of the poor elderly and needy artists on your social network.

  Under this program, a total of 2034 deserving artists benefited from PSPA’s Sila-e-Fun initiative.

Foreign Funded Program

PSPA-funded programs with foreign funding may have different goals and intended audiences. Initiatives pertaining to income support, healthcare, education, skill development, and other types of social assistance may be among them. These initiatives frequently aim to improve the socioeconomic standing and general well-being of underprivileged communities.

The largest project of Foreign Funded Programs is:

• Punjab Human Capital Investment Project

A project in Pakistan, more specifically in the province of Punjab, with the goal of enhancing human capital development is known as the Punjab Human Capital Investment Project (PHCIP). It focuses on a variety of areas, including education, health, and skill development, to improve the population’s general well-being and productivity.

The Punjab Social Protection Authority (PSPA), which serves as the implementing body for these programs, implements the PHCIP with assistance from foreign financing. The implementation of several projects and initiatives that focus on various regions of the province is made possible by foreign funding.

Under the PHCIP-PSPA, these foreign-funded programs seek to address important problems and difficulties in the development of human capital. They consist of programs like:

1. Education Enhancement Program
2. Health and Nutrition Program
3. Skill Development Program
4. Social Protection Program

These PHCIP programs are essential for enhancing social protection, healthcare, education, and skill development, which eventually benefits the province’s residents’ overall growth and welfare.

Ba-Himmat Buzurg Program

Elderly peoples in Pakistan and Punjab frequently depend on others for their financial and physical support. However, the public sector offers them only a limited amount of support, particularly for those who are not formal sector workers with pensions or other benefits. As a result, there is a support gap for many older people in the nation.

The Ba-himmat Buzurg Programme was introduced by the Punjab Social Protection Authority (PSPA) to close this gap. This program’s primary goal is to raise the socioeconomic standing of underprivileged elderly people in Punjab. The program’s goals are as follows:

• Improve social inclusion for older people in poverty by giving them a respectable social pension.
• Improve the elderly’s ability to survive amid poverty.
• Reduce the reliance on social networks of older people in poverty.

The social pension program is intended to shield people 65 and older from hazards to their way of life and give them the means to lead decent lives. The program now offers elderly females in families who are ineligible for the Ehsaas Programme (BISP) monthly cash assistance of Rs. 2000. Male family members 65 years of age and older are eligible if the program-eligible female recipient passes away. For the fiscal year 2021–2022, Rs. 2,400 million has been set aside to pay for this program. Currently, this effort helps 82,000 senior citizens. The program aims to assist Punjab’s most needy citizens in meeting their financial needs.

Nayee Zindagi Program

Programs for social protection are essential for combating poverty in Pakistan. The “Nayee Zindagi Programme” under the Punjab Ehsaas Programme has been launched by the Punjab Social Protection Authority exclusively for victims of acid attacks. Through surgeries and counseling, this program seeks to heal victims, assisting them in reintegrating into society and enhancing their socioeconomic standing.

 The Nayee Zindagi Program works in conjunction with the healthcare division to pay for medical expenses. It offers victims social rights protection, and medical and psychological rehabilitation, avoids their isolation, and lessens their vulnerability. The government provides skin grafting, job training, and interest-free loans to victims as financial assistance.

The Nayee Zindagi Program gives acid attack survivors the tools they need to live self-sufficient, honorable lives. It aids in their recovery, improves their health, and facilitates their integration back into society.

Zewar-e-Taleem Program

The Zewar-e-Taleem Program is a conditional cash transfer initiative aim at supporting girl students enrolled in public sector schools in 16 districts with low literacy rates.

The major objective of the Zewar-e-Taleem Program is to improve teenage girls’ nutritional needs while increasing their school enrolment and retention. The Punjab Social Protection Authority (PSPA) establish a branchless banking system that is use to distribute the Rs. 1000 stipend each month.

These districts are Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Bhakkar, Chinniot, DG Khan, Jhang, Kasur, Khanewal, Layyah, Lodhran, Muzaffargarh, Okara, Pakpattan, Rajanpur, Rahim Yar Khan, and Vehari. Eligible girls who are enroll in government schools in these districts receive the stipend.

The money is distributed quarterly basis, and the School Education Department submits a report showing an attendance rate of 80% before the money is released. Once the academic year is through, students in grade 10 are automatically dropped from the program. Students who leave school early are similarly not allowed to participate in the program.

After a successful biometric verification, students who registered for classes through the yearly enrollment drive run by the School Education Department are entitled to a stipend. This program has thus far benefited almost 700,000 students.

Humqadam Program

Humqadam Program provides unconditional cash transfers that immediately help clients with their financial requirements and eventually assist in bringing them out of extreme poverty. These programs are especially well suited for dealing with long-term poverty, illness, brief shocks, food scarcity emergencies, and similar circumstances. 

The public sector in Pakistan and Punjab offers just a small amount of assistance to people with disabilities (PWDs). The majority of the already offered aid is one-time or annual, leaving PWDs without a consistent source of funding.

The Humqadam program, which provides underprivileged PWDs in Punjab with unconditional cash transfers, was established to address this issue. PWDs are given 2,000 rupees in monetary support each month via a branchless banking channel. Annual adjustments will be made to the program’s beneficiary count depending on life verification and new registrations. The Humqadam Program’s primary objective is to raise the socioeconomic standing of PWDs in Punjab.

The program’s goal is to increase social involvement, ensure basic needs are met, and lessen reliance on social networks by offering economic support. This program is open to all eligible individuals in Punjab province’s districts.

Project Objectives

• Increase Punjab’s PWDs’ social inclusion.
• increase the PWDs’ ability to survive.
• lessen the reliance of PWDs on social networks.

Eligibility Criteria

• People must score 30 or lower on the Proxy Means Test (PMT) as determined by the National Socio-economic Registry (NSER), which is calculated by the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).
• They must have a unique CNIC/B form that was issued by NADRA. 

After successful biometric verification or the Know Your Customer (KYC) process, payments are made. On a quarterly basis, money is transferred out in the form of unconditional cash payments.

PSPA Helpline Number