PM launches ‘Kamyab Pakistan Programme’: 4.5m low-income families to get Rs1trn interest-free loans

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday launched ‘Kamyab Pakistan Programme’ designed to provide support to the 4.5 million low-income families by providing interest-free loans of Rs1 trillion in the next two years for starting their own business, house construction, and for investment in agriculture.

Addressing the people coming from across the provinces, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir here at Faisal Mosque, the prime minister said that higher tax collection by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for the first time has enabled the government to reduce oil and electricity prices by Rs10 and Rs5 per unit respectively at a time when the prices are increasing. He promised to continue providing relief to the people as and when the tax collection would increase.

The prime minister said that 4.5 million families have been brought into the programme.

He said that the programme was started initially from the KP, the AJK, the GB, and some areas of Balochistan, Punjab, and Sindh, and now it is being expanded to all over the world.

He said that the low-income families in the urban areas would get Rs5 lac interest-free loans to start their own business and those living in rural areas would get Rs3.5 lac interest-free loans for investment in their land.

Govt likely to extend KPP to whole country

The prime minister said that two million interest-free loans for construction of their own houses and one member of the family can get technical training.

The prime minister said that so far, Rs2.5 billion has been disbursed and in the next two years Rs1,000 billion loans would be provided to 4.5 million families to start their own business and learn technical education; and farmers could increase their income by investing on their own land.

He said that banks have been providing loans to the rich and for the first time banks are providing loans to the salaried class and so far, Rs55 billion loans are being provided and the government is subsidizing the interest.

The premier said that it was unfortunate that Kachhi Abadis have been increasing in all the major cities because people did not have the money to construct.

“40 percent Kachhi Abadis are in Karachi,” he added.

The prime minister said that by the end of this month, every family would have health insurance, adding that he considers this as his biggest achievement and happiness during the last three and half years in the government.

The prime minister said that Pakistan was created for making it an Islamic welfare state on the principles of the State of Medina; however, unfortunately, the country had not tread the envisioned ideology for which the Pakistan was created.

He further stated that the nation that moves away from its ideology never succeeds and the purpose of the function is to move onto the path to take the country towards a welfare state.

Earlier, Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen in his video message shown in the launching ceremony said that this is a big step for moving towards prime minister’s dream of making Pakistan a welfare state.

He said that interest-free loans under KPP, Rs5 lac would be provided to the families in the urban areas to start their own business, Rs2 million for construction of houses as well as Rs3.5 lac to the families living in urban areas for farming equipment and investment in their land besides, providing technical skill to one individual to the family. Additionally, he said they would get Sehat cards.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022