Kamyab Pakistan Programme launch: PM says govt taking measures to curb inflation

Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the Kamyab Pakistan Programme (KPP) on Monday under which loans amounting to Rs1.4 trillion will be disbursed among 3.7 million families across the country.

Addressing the KPP inauguration ceremony in Islamabad, Khan said that the programme should have started 74 years ago as he vowed to protect the low-income groups from inflationary pressures.

"The government is taking all measures to safeguard the low-income groups against rising inflation," said Khan. “Globally, oil prices have increased 100% in the last few months, but in Pakistan oil prices have increased by 22%. The prices of wheat have increased by 37% globally amid supply chain disruptions due to Covid-19. However, in Pakistan wheat rate has only increased by 12%. Similarly, the rate of sugar has gone up by 40% globally, whereas in Pakistan the rates have hiked 21%,” he said.

The prime minister said that the government has also brought down sales tax, and petroleum levy imposed on POL products, due to which the government has suffered losses.

He said that in the coming days the government is commencing its targeted subsidy programme, under which 40% direct subsidy will be given to lower-income segments on commodities such as wheat, sugar and ghee.

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The prime minister said that Pakistan is currently facing ‘imported inflation,’ as the country imported four million tons of wheat last year alone. “We are hopeful that as the global supply chain situation improves, the commodity prices would be brought down,” he said.

Khan said that despite fiscal pressure, efforts have been made to minimise burden on the people.

Highlighting policies adopted by different countries, Khan compared China and India, saying 40 years ago, both were at par on social indicators. However, at present China is ahead whereas India is struggling with massive income inequality, Khan added.

“When I went to China, they shared with me the steps they took to uplift the impoverished segment of the society,” he said.

The prime minister lamented that past governments have turned the country “into an elitist system.”

Highlighting issues in the education sector, Khan said that no one has ever worked on introducing a uniform curriculum. “For the first time in Pakistan history, we finally developed a core syllabus,” he said.

“Our entire system caters to the elite section. Such society can never prosper until we fundamentally change our mindset,” said PM Khan.

The prime minister said that inequality leads to deterioration in society. “No society can become successful where you have pools of rich and masses of poor,” he said.

Talking about house financing, Khan said that even the middle-income groups could not afford to build their own home as there was no system of house financing.

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“We realised that our banks didn’t have the infrastructure or training to disburse loans to the low-income segment. Therefore, after reviewing it, we are moving towards microfinance institutions like Akhuwat etc,” he said

Government wants to achieve inclusive, sustainbale growth

Earlier, in his address on Monday, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said the KPP is a major initiative of the government to alleviate poverty.

“The present government wants to achieve inclusive, sustainable growth,” he said.

The finance minister added that throughout Pakistan history, the benefit of economic growth didn’t reach the lower strata of the society.

“Pakistan's economic growth has been cyclical, and has been marred with structural deficiencies. As a result, the economy moves back towards recession,” he said.

Kamyab Pakistan Programme

As per details, financing under KPP shall only be extended to families with a cumulative average monthly income of up to Rs50,000 per month, according to a statement released by the government.

The KPP has five components namely (i) Kamyab Kissan (ii) Kamyab Karobar (iii) Naya Pakistan low-cost housing (iv) Kamyab Hunarmand and (v) Sehatmand Pakistan.

One loan under each Kamyab Pakistan loan category, i.e. Kamyab Karobar, Kamyab Kissan, and Housing, shall be permissible concurrently with the maximum exposure capped at Rs2.85 million [put together] per family.

Under the first three components, micro-loans shall be disbursed amongst eligible persons registered with Ehsaas Data, scientifically collected through National Soci-economic Registry (NSER). The last two components of KPP will be integrated with the Government’s existing initiatives.

Kamyab Hunarmand is designed to integrate with Government’s ongoing skill development programme for imparting educational and vocational training to our talented youth. The KPP also includes a user-friendly portal called the Kamyab Pakistan Information System (KPIS). The portal will be integrated with Ehsaas and NADRA data bases for verification of beneficiaries’ eligibility to facilitate the executing agencies (i.e., MfP’s) for finalising the financing modalities in a most efficient and seamless manner

The KPP shall be rolled out gradually. During the first phase, Gilgit-Baltistan, AJK, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and some districts of Punjab and Sindh are included.

On September 17, a meeting of the Joint Steering Committee and Advisory Board of Kamyab Pakistan Programme (KPP) finalised broad contours of the revised KPP and size of the programme for the ongoing fiscal year was scaled down to half of what was originally envisaged and that it would be implemented on an equal cost-sharing basis besides selecting the wholesale lenders (banks) for the programme through a bidding process.