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Tuesday March 19, 2024

Govt to start soft loans for cottage industry: CM Usman Buzdar

By Our Correspondent
November 13, 2019

LAHORE:The Punjab government has decided to start a loan programme on soft conditions for promoting cottage industries in the province.

In this regard, a meeting was held under the chair of Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar at his office here Tuesday in which briefing was given about this programme. Addressing the meeting, the chief minister said that soft loans programme would help to promote the industrial sector, and especially the industries facing paucity of resources, would be especially benefited by it.

Meanwhile, the youth will learn new skills to get job opportunities. The meeting was told that Rs300 million had been allocated for providing soft loans to the cottage industry. A loan worth Rs300,000 will be given along with return period of three years and three months grace period. Similarly, loans scheme worth Rs6 billion will be started for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Under this scheme, loan amount up to Rs3 million will be given with a grace period of six months. Under the loan markup support programme, the existing SMEs will also get loans on soft terms and Rs3 billion will be allocated for this scheme. The chief minister directed that the loans disbursement process should be transparent as well as speedy and the department should submit its final report along with timelines. Industries Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal, administrative secretaries, MD PSIC and others attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, Usman Buzdar has expressed strong concern over artificial price hike especially unnecessary increase in the prices of vegetables. He directed the price control taskforce to take effective measures for stabilising the prices of food items and said that vegetables would be available at government rates at agriculture fair-price shops of model bazaars. The decision has been made to expand the scope of model bazaars to the level of tehsil and the chief minister directed the officials concerned to submit a plan in this regard. He said that provincial price control authority would be established on the pattern of Punjab Food Authority and the required mechanism should be given final shape at the earliest.

CURFEW: Usman Buzdar said that human beings were continuously facing miseries in Indian-Held Kashmir for the last 100 days adding that the curfew was the worst violation of human rights as well as an ugly example of barbarity. The human history is unable to present any other example of this kind of worst treatment of Kashmiris by India, he added.

PROBE: Usman Buzdar ordered to hold inquiry of martyrdom of police officials during an operation in DG Khan and Rajanpur and Addl. IG (Internal Accountability Branch) Azhar Hameed Khokhar has been directed to investigate and submit a report within three days.

MESSAGE: The chief minister said that the purpose of celebrating World Kindness Day is to sensitise the people about the importance of public welfare in society.

In his message, the chief minister said that love for the ailing humanity, expression of feelings of compassion and good gestures are some of the moral values and also the basic injunction of the religion of Islam.