On March 24, 2020, the Government of Pakistan announced a PKR 144 billion income support programme called Ehsaas Emergency Cash, to alleviate the economic hardship caused by Covid-19. This represents among the most ambitious efforts by the state in Pakistan to engage and support its citizens.

We discuss the transformational potential of the Ehsaas Emergency Cash programme in terms of the country’s social contract, its fiscal priorities and digital payments with:

• Mudassar Aqil
  CEO, Telenor Microfinance Bank
• Nazish Brohi
  Researcher & Social Scientist
• Dr. Juvaria Jafri
  Political Economist, City University of London
• Shandana Khan
  CEO, Rural Suppport Programme Network
• Dr.Pervez Tahir
  Former Chief Economist, Planning Commission, Government of Pakistan.

Resources:

• Tabadlab’s First Response: “Pakistan’s Bold Covid-19 Income Support: A Portal For Fiscal Transformation”
• Tabadlab’s First Response: “The Ehsaas Anti-Poverty Programme: Building A Compassion State?”
• Dr Juvaria Jafri on the Ehsaas Emergency Cash programme for The Conversation: “How Pakistan is using technology to disperse cash to people in need”
• Saleem Muhammad’s PhD thesis on the selection criteria for BISP/Ehsaas beneficiaries “Evaluating Political Capture and Targeting Performance of the Benazir Income Support Program in Pakistan”
• Huma Sattar on the Ehsaas Emergency Cash mechanism in the Business Recorder “Ehsaas mechanism: Will it work?”