Cabinet approves relief package worth Rs75 billion to facilitate small businesses
- As part of the initiative, the government will bear electricity expenses of small businesses across Pakistan for three months.
- The cabinet approved appointment of Shaista Bano Gillani as the caretaker chief of Competition Commission of Pakistan
- The cabinet also gave three more weeks to the inquiry commission probing the sugar scam for forensic audit.
(Karachi) The cabinet has approved package worth Rs75 billion rupees to resolve issues of working capital of those small businesses which have been massively affected due to lockdown. The initiative also aims to provide relief to laborers and daily wagers, who got unemployed due to coronavirus pandemic, media has reported.
A meeting of the federal cabinet was held in Islamabad on Tuesday under the chair of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
During the meeting, the package for small businesses and industries was approved. As part of the initiative, the government will bear electricity expenses of small businesses across Pakistan for three months.
Similarly, small businesses having a commercial connection of less than five kilowatt and industrial consumers less than 70 kilowatts can benefit from the initiative, under which the government will pay electricity bills for the months of May, June and, July.
The sums deposited in their bills will stay valid for utilisation upto six months. The sum will be based on actual consumption and total payments made from the meter in May, June, July 2019 period combined.
The federal cabinet also approved an assistance package for healthcare workers fighting on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. Any healthcare worker, who dies while performing duties related to Covid-19 shall be entitled to the same package as is applicable to government servants in cases of security-related deaths contained in Shuhada Package.
The package will be applicable for healthcare workers in Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Earlier, Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar said under the programme, Rs12,000 rupees each will be distributed among four to six million people, which will be in addition to the 12 million Ehsas beneficiaries. He said a portal to this effect will also be launched.
The minister said laborers and daily wagers can get themselves registered by accessing the portal and filling the required information there. Azhar informed that the registration process can be completed in around three minutes. He said the eligible people will be finalized after applying.
Azhar said that they will now be working on a third scheme, which will be a financial aid package for small businesses through which loans will be given without a guarantor.
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