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Friday March 29, 2024

PM youth plan extended to seminaries, terror victims

ISLAMABAD: The Prime Minister Youth Skills Development Programme has been extended to students of religious seminaries, juvenile prisoners and victims of terrorism.According to budget documents, the programme intends to promote capacity building and giving employment to unemployed educated youth through training in 100 demand-driven trades across Pakistan. Until now 25,000

By our correspondents
June 08, 2015
ISLAMABAD: The Prime Minister Youth Skills Development Programme has been extended to students of religious seminaries, juvenile prisoners and victims of terrorism.
According to budget documents, the programme intends to promote capacity building and giving employment to unemployed educated youth through training in 100 demand-driven trades across Pakistan. Until now 25,000 youth have benefited from it whereas the process for training of another 25,000 persons is at an advanced stage.
Meanwhile, the federal government is undertaking a Rs100 billion Special Development Programme to enhance the security apparatus, rehabilitate the affected areas and resettle the Temporarily Displaced Persons (TDPs).
Terrorist activities have established the need for further reinforcement in internal defences with objectives of protecting the areas from where the terrorists have been evicted, rehabilitating the TDPs allowing them to honourably restart their lives.It was stated that Pakistan has rendered enormous sacrifices in both blood and treasure in fighting terrorism. Yet this is a menace that requires a long-term effort to eradicate.
The operation Zarb-e-Azb had been initiated with a steely resolve to uproot this peril for good, and the armed forces have fought valiantly and accomplished exemplary successes for which they deserve the gratitude of every Pakistani. However, the atrocities committed by retreating and desperate remnants elements in Peshawar and Karachi are a reminder that the government cannot be complacent in this war.
Budgetary allocations have been made to undertake different projects in Gwadar. An amount of Rs3 billion will be spent to build a new airport. A provision of Rs2 billion was made for the Gwadar Development Authority. A sum of Rs3 billion was earmarked for necessary facilities of water treatment, supply, and distribution in Gwadar.
The mark-up rate for borrowers under the Prime Minister Youth Business Loans Scheme was lowered from 8% to 6%. The scheme was started for promotion of youth entrepreneurship and eradication of unemployment. Based on merit and transparency, it offers loans at subsidised mark-up rates. After National Bank of Pakistan and First Women Bank Limited, seven privatised banks have also joined this programme. So far, more than 15,000 loans have been approved under this scheme. About 20,000 applications are in under process.
It was further stated the Prime Minister’s Interest Free Loan Scheme has so far shown 100 % recovery. Till now, the scheme has benefited 44,000 persons. Under this programme, interest free loans of Rs50,000 average size are made available to the men and women from households with a score of up to 40 on the Poverty Score Card (PSC) and with little or no access to banks or micro-credit institutions.
Under the Prime Minister Scheme for Provision of Laptops to Talented Students, laptops are procured through open competitive bidding under PPRA Rules and under the vigilance of Transparency International Pakistan, which are then delivered to public sector universities/institutions across Pakistan and Azad Kashmir.
Some 70,000 laptops have been distributed so far. In addition, 700 laptops have been manufactured locally on a state-of-the-art laptop assembly plant. It will additionally help in technology transfer as well as creation of jobs.
The federal government is also establishing a world class bus transit system namely Green Line Bus Transit System in Karachi. It will operate between Saddar and Surjani Town and will be able to commute 300,000 passengers per day. The project is planned to be completed by December 2016 with a total cost of about Rs16 billion.