800 people given easy loans: minister

LAHORE:Punjab Minister for Industries and Commerce Mian Aslam Iqbal has said Punjab Rozgaar Scheme successfully completed one year in accordance with the vision of the prime minister to create new job opportunities.

Under the scheme of Punjab Small Industries Corporation, easy loans of more than Rs 45 crore have been distributed to 800 people in a year. One lakh 70 thousand applications were registered in a year on the portal of Punjab Rozgaar Scheme while Punjab Small Industries Corporation received 19 thousand applications for loans. After processing, 9 thousand applications were sent to Bank of Punjab while Punjab Bank has accepted one thousand applications, the minister said. He said easy loans of more than Rs30 billion would be disbursed in five years under the scheme. The scheme will provide employment to 1.6 million people and benefit more than 16,000 SMEs. He said that the government has decided to make the conditions easier and softer to expedite the scheme. Under the Punjab Rozgaar Scheme, Punjab Small Industries Corporation will now issue loans of up to Rs 2 million on its own. Aslam Iqbal said that Punjab Small Industries Corporation decided to set up its own industrial development bank. A committee will review all aspects and make a workable proposal for the establishment of a bank, he said and added that the govt was also coming up with more schemes to promote sustainable economy.