Govt working to improve governance,availability of energy: Dar

ISLAMABAD: The government is working at various levels to improve governance and availability of energy and other key infrastructure inputs, Finance Minister said on Friday.
“The government is striving to create more opportunities of doing business and make the common people of the country self-reliant and economically empowered,” Dar said, while launching the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) for Pakistan.
The objective of the strategy is to build momentum and push forward reforms to achieve universal financial inclusion in an integrated and sustained manner.
He highlighted that the recent historic agreement for creation of Pak-China Economic Corridor is an economically vital plan devised to help drive Pakistan’s economic growth. The economic corridor will connect economic agents and link economic centres with large resources, which can be cultivated for job creation.
Emphasising the need to increase access to fair and dignified financial services to achieve sustainable economic growth, the finance minister said that the strategy, championed by the State Bank of Pakistan, is consistent with the government’s Vision 2025, which calls for enhancing access to credit for the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and focuses on strengthening and deepening financial inclusion in the country.
He regretted media speculations regarding imposition of tax on remittances in the forthcoming federal budget and categorically said no such proposal is under consideration by the federal government.
He said that the government is already working on some of the drivers that the NFIS identifies to catalyse financial inclusion.
In particular, digitisation of payments is a priority area and resolute efforts have been taken to support the digitalisation of payments and give depth to financial services among various segments of the population.
Dar shared that Pakistan has become a member of the Better than Cash Alliance - a global initiative.
The contribution of branchless banking is significant when it comes to channelising the government-to-person payments.
Ashraf Mahmood Wathra, governor of the SBP, said that since the early 1990’s, Pakistan’s financial sector has witnessed considerable reforms that have significantly strengthened its soundness, profitability, efficiency and diversity.
Pakistan has been a pioneer in championing financial inclusion for over a decade and achieved a large number of significant milestones.
In particular, he said, the creation of a regulatory framework for microfinance banks in 2001; the expansion and modernisation of online credit information bureau (e-CIB) in 2005; the adoption of branchless banking regulations allowing a tiered approach to know-your-customer (KYC) requirements in 2008; the launch of financial inclusion programme under DFID support, which includes risk sharing initiatives, smart grant facilities for capacity development, innovation and market infrastructure development in 2008; the establishment of a specialised microfinance credit information bureau (m-CIB) in 2009; and the launch of a nationwide Financial Literacy Programme in 2012.