The Punjab government is encouraging micro financing and all out cooperation and assistance is being extended to private sector banks in this regard, Minister for Finance, Excise & Taxation Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman said. While addressing the brand launching of FINCA (KASHF) Microfinance Bank, Mujtaba hoped that FINCA Microfinance Bank will play a vital role for removing unemployment and minimising poverty and to encourage the common businessmen.
Mujtaba said equal distribution of resources can help ensure minimise the discrepancy between the rich and the poor. Through micro financing, we can minimise the unemployment and poverty and Punjab government has launched self-employment scheme for jobless youngsters and Rs 3 billion interest free loans are being distributed for this purpose, he added.
The Minister further said Rs 1.5 billion is being provided to educated jobless youth under internship programme out of which 50 percent is being provided to jobless female. He said that Punjab government has also initiated revolutionary programmes for removing dependency of young people, like green tractor scheme for every youth, yellow cap, interest free loan, education endowment fund worth Rs 12 billion.
Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman said Punjab government is also working on the projects of generating energy through coal, biogas, biomass, bagasse, solar and hydro because industrialisation and economic activities can be promoted through providing continuous power supply to the economic activities so that minimise the poverty and unemployment.
The Minister said we cannot eliminate curse of terrorism without overcoming gap between haves and have-nots. He said that special programmes like provision of loans to youth on soft terms, launching of Punjab Rozegar Bank and Health Insurance Scheme have also been started for the welfare of the low income segment of the society. He said training of various skills have been provided to thousands of youth of under-developed areas under Punjab Skill Development Programme.