Rs1.6 billion loans distributed among youth

Islamabad: A total of loans worth Rs1.6 billion have been given under the Prime Minister Youth Loan Scheme in the first two months of this year.

According to the details, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the concerned authorities to achieve the Rs30 billion loan target under this scheme by end of June.

The official statistics showed that starting from 2013, around 54,000 youth have been extended loan facilities worth Rs73.55 billion. The loan scheme aims to promote self-employment and entrepreneurship amongst the youth, a much-needed area of focus in the current economic scenario.

The addition of agricultural loans will also help the rural youth bring innovation to farming which can include mechanised farming, the creation of agricultural value chains, and the solarisation of farming equipment to create more sustainable energy resource management in a climate-challenged country like Pakistan.

A special committee is monitoring the operational issues of the scheme. It includes Minister of State for Finance Ayesha Ghaus Pasha, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Shiza Fatima, federal secretaries for information and poverty alleviation, founder of Akhuwat Foundation, the State Bank governor, and presidents of National Rural Support Programme, Bank of Punjab, Habib Bank Limited, Zarai Taraqqiati Bank and Bank Al Falah.

An official has informed that the scheme builds on a number of youth development programmes ranging from PEEF loans to laptop and self-employment schemes.