BISP To Hold First Int'l Conference On (NSER) On Wednesday

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BISP to hold first int'l conference on (NSER) on Wednesday

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jan, 2017 ) : Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) would hold first "International Conference on National Socio Economic Registry (NSER)" to unveil changes made in new poverty scorecard.

"The NESR data would discuss the possibilities of its usages with a wider audience including policy makers, researchers, academia, civil society and public at large as this registry is an important stepping stone towards Pakistan's future development", said Chairperson BISP Marvi Memon.

Talking to media person here on Tuesday she shared that different sessions of the conference will trace the evolution and development of NSER and its Management Information Systems through different phases Besides that it would also discuss the rationale for updation, revised methodology, features of the new poverty scorecard as well as introduce the android application on which the new survey will be conducted.

The later sessions will emphasize the usage of NSER by government and non-government organizations for launch of social welfare programmes across the country as well as for research purposes, she added.

Marvi Memon said, international development experts from the World Bank and DFID will throw light on the importance of NSER for phasing out energy subsidies as well as discuss ideas to make the registry dynamic.

The conference will also discuss the current models of data sharing between BISP and different organizations as well as its usages by different organizations.

Recipients of BISP data including Prime Minister Health Insurance Scheme, Punjab Khidmat Card, KPK Insaaf Card, Green Star Social Marketing, Alif Ailaan, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, Akhuwat, NAVTTC, and Population welfare will share success stories about how BISP data has enabled these organizations to launch pro-poor programmes across the country.

The chairperson stated that the recent changes in the country's economic indicators of poverty and unemployment may have significantly altered the household composition and demographic information.

Similarly, Marvi Memon said, there is a possibility that a household having entered BISP programme at a certain level of welfare may no longer need assistance following a significant positive change in its welfare condition, or new families that meet the eligibility criteria now need to enter the programme.

Keeping in view the transient nature of population around the poverty line and the internationally accepted phenomenon of change in House Hold demographic profile over time, it is important for this flagship social safety net to start working on update of its NSER.

An update of NSER will help to overcome the above mentioned three levels of errors especially the one associated with the time factor, she said. APP/hs/kmd � 17:44/18:39/18:39