Sunday, 22 September 2013 10:50
Posted by Shoaib-ur-Rehman Siddiqui 
ZAHEER ABBASI
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday announced six schemes worth Rs 18 billion for the people. The schemes envisage provision of interest-free micro loans, small business loans and technical training.
The Prime Minister in his televised address to the nation also solicited suggestions from people from Monday onwards to make the schemes transparent and successful.
He said the government has allocated Rs20 billion in the budget for the current fiscal year to provide loans either interest-free or on nominal interest charges to enable them to earn a respectable living for themselves and their families.
Nawaz said the government would provide Rs3 billion micro interest-free loans to 0.25 million people who are financially weak.
The prime minister also announced provision of Rs 0.5 million to Rs 2 million loans at discounted interest rates of 8 percent to the educated youth under the small business loans scheme. He said an amount of Rs 5 billion has been allocated for the scheme and the loans would be offered through National Bank of Pakistan and First Women Bank. He said 50 percent of the loans would be provided to women.
Under the youth training scheme, he said the government would provide skill training to 50,000 graduates who have completed their 16-year education to enable them to avail employment opportunities in the country and abroad. The prime minister said during the training, a monthly stipend of Rs 10,000 would be given to youths for which Rs 4 billion have been earmarked.
He said the youth skilled development schemes would be initiated to provide vocational training to jobless youth up to 25 years of age who have completed middle level education for which Rs 800 million have been earmarked. He said the government would provide them a monthly stipend of Rs 5,000 and also bear their training expenditures.
Nawaz also announced fee payment scheme for underprivileged areas' students of masters and higher level of Rs 1.2 billion. The scheme is for (male & female) students who come from far-flung areas of the country and want to acquire higher education so that any talented student should not be deprived of educational opportunities, only because his or her parents cannot afford the academic expenses. As many as 30,000 students will benefit from this initiative.
He also announced launching of Prime Minister Laptop Scheme worth Rs 4 billion to provide laptops to 100,000 students. He said this is the age of Information Technology... it is impossible to acquire quality education and research without IT. The government of Punjab had initiated a laptop scheme for this purpose and now it is being launched by the federal government nationwide to provide 100,000 laptops in accordance with the programme, he added.
Nawaz said the government has started a journey for the fulfillment of promises and this is the first step in the long journey, adding that with the passage of time, these steps will not only be enhanced but more and more resources would be allocated towards their fulfillment.
He said the government wanted to resolve all issues confronting Pakistan, so that the economy could be strengthened in such a manner that we get rid of foreign assistance. He said billions of rupees could be saved each year, being spent on the government institutions functioning in deficit. This amount could be utilised on the schemes for the welfare of common man, education and training of youth and creating new opportunities for the youngsters.
He said that every year the government spends approximately Rs 500 billion on the State Owned Entities (SOEs) which are running in losses. These Rs500 billion, if saved, can be utilised on such financial initiatives, which could bring a revolution in the lives of underprivileged classes and youngsters.
He continued that although the government is facing shortage of resources and financial difficulties, yet it is fulfilling its promises made with the nation and initiated programmes though not revolutionary, but would open new avenues for the welfare of underprivileged segments and youngsters.
Nawaz said the main idea of these initiatives is to provide financial opportunities for making these segments self-reliant and self-sufficient in their development.
"Globally job opportunities in the public sector are decreasing and same is the case in Pakistan, where such opportunities are becoming lesser with each passing day," he added.
The prime minister regretted that for petty political interests a large numbers of people were inducted in the state owned enterprises, which is one of the reasons behind the weakening state institutions. Unable to support such a burden, he added, these institutions are in bad financial shape and PIA, Steel Mills and Railways are just a few examples of nepotism, favoritism and financial mismanagement.
He said it is in the interest of the nation and the State to strengthen private sector... and to provide the people with opportunities of self-reliance so that instead of running after jobs, they could stand on their feet to provide a livelihood to their families.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2013
