LAHORE: To promote economic activities and increase employment in the province, the Punjab government has decided to increase the upper limit of subsidized loans under the Punjab Employment Scheme to Rs 20 million from Rs 1 million.

The decision was made in the ministerial steering committee meeting of the Punjab Employment Scheme on Friday which was chaired by Punjab Finance Minister Mohsin Leghari.

Special Secretary Finance Muhammad Ali Randhawa, Secretary Industries Sohail Ashraf, MD Punjab Small Industries Corporation and representatives of Bank of Punjab were present in the meeting while Bank of Punjab President Zafar Masood participated through a video link.

As per details shared in the meeting, the government has also extended the loan repayment period. Under the scheme, the borrowers will be able to repay their loan within a period of five to eight years.

The objective of these subsidized loans provided at very low markup was to reduce the hardships of the common man by providing employment. The Punjab Small Industries MD while giving a detailed briefing on the progress of the Punjab Employment Scheme said that 2,944 loans worth Rs 2961.55 million have been distributed.

“The highest numbers of beneficiaries of the scheme were applicants from Rahim Yar Khan. Apart from this, residents of Bahawalpur, Lahore, Multan and Muzaffargarh were also benefiting from this scheme,” he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022