KP govt to provide soft loans to skilled youth

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sardar Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has decided to launch the “Youth Entrepreneurship Programme” under which soft loans would be provided to skilled youth, thereby enabling them to initiate their own businesses. He took the decision while chairing the 1st meeting of the Sports & Youth Affairs Department held here, said a handout.

It was decided in the meeting that the proposed programme would be launched initially at a cost of Rs 1 billion. The soft loans would not be provided to any individual but to the clusters of skilled youth interested in launching their own business.

Each cluster of professionals will be able to avail a loan ranging from Rs2 million to Rs10 million.The chief minister said the ultimate purpose of the programme was to assist the talented and skilled youth interested in initiating their own business in accordance with their professional skills and capabilities.

He gave the go-ahead to launch the Youth Skill Development and Employment Programme as well, and directed the officials concerned that youth from all the districts of the province should be provided with this opportunity, adding that the quota of each district be allocated according to its population for this purpose. Under the programme, initially, 20,000 youth would be imparted specialized technical and vocational training.

It will also be an integral part of the programme to ensure that the youth being trained under it are provided employment within the country and abroad.Apart from this, the chief minister accorded approval to the proposed initiatives under Youth Education Programme, through which, merit based scholarships would be provided in IT, modern technical and digital sectors, in addition to establishing an Incubation Centre,-e-Learning facility, Career Counseling and providing access to educational institutions worldwide.

Certification in advanced courses in digital skills and provision of merit-based internships in market driven disciplines were part of this programme.The chief minister directed the officials to ensure the implementation of the project for establishment of playgrounds at tehsil headquarters across the province.

He added that in the first phase, available government lands/sites should be utilized for this purpose. “Where such sites are available, should be notified as a playground immediately”, he added.

The chief minister directed the officials to devise a plan for promoting polo and other traditional games of KP, asking them to form a provincial polo team. It was decided to hold a horse and cattle show in Peshawar this year. He directed for speedy completion of remaining work at Arbab Niaz Cricket Stadium Peshawar and said that the funds required for this purpose would be provided on priority.The chief minister directed to ensure completion of ongoing development projects including Hayatabad Cricket Stadium, Dera Ismail Khan Sports Complex and Kalam Cricket Stadium.