Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Saturday that the government was making direct intervention to create employment, economic opportunities and augment income to improve the quality and life standard of common man, and President's Rozgar Scheme "is one of them".
He advised the youth to get maximum benefits from this scheme, where the government is sharing 50 percent of the mark-up on loans, credit loss and credit risk insurance. Presiding over a meeting here at Governor House here, which reviewed the progress of President's Rozgar Scheme, the Prime Minister said: "The government will ensure that people belonging to every part of the country should benefit from this programme."
Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Muhammad Ali Durrani, PM's Special Advisor Commander Khalil-ur-Rehman, Dr Waqar Masood Khan and National Bank of Pakistan President Ali Raza and senior officials were also present on the occasion.
The Prime Minister said that the fiscal space created as a result of economic recovery and high growth achieved by the country has enabled the government to allocate more resources to improve the living standards of the people.
He said that the government was focussing both on mega projects and small development programmes to achieve a balanced growth. He said that President's Rozgar Scheme was providing loans up to Rs 200,000 to unemployed youth for self-employment. NBP President Ali Raza updated the Prime Minister on the scheme and said that 10,400 applications had been received under the scheme while 300 applications were being added daily.
He said that the programme, formally launched last week, was fast gaining momentum and the receipt of the number of applications had also surged. He said that 62 percent of the applications had been received from rural areas while 38 percent were from urban areas.
About 80 to 85 percent of the applications were likely to qualify, and the beneficiaries could get a net income ranging from Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000 per month by starting businesses, like utility stores, mobile general stores, public transport, public call office (PCO) and tele-centres, he added.
The NBP President said that major partners in the scheme were Intel's Tele-Centre, Mobilink's PCOs, Qingqi and N J Auto rickshaws for public transport, State Life Insurance Company, National Insurance Company and Government of Pakistan.
The Prime Minister in his concluding remarks said that the scheme was poised to grow and it was heartening to note that youth belonging to all parts of the country were taking benefits from the scheme.