The government has relaunched the Prime Minister’s Youth Loan Scheme with revised features, including interest-free microloans and agriculture loans. Under the revised scheme titled Prime Minister’s Youth Business & Agriculture Loan Scheme (PMYB&ALS), eligible borrowers can avail of financing up to Rs 0.5 million at zero interest rate.
Prime Minister’s Kamyab Jawan Youth Entrepreneur Scheme was initially launched in July 2019 to provide self-employment opportunities to unemployed youth. However, the scheme was suspended in June this year, and the State Bank asked the participating banks to put it on hold for fresh disbursement from July 1, 2022.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the government of Pakistan has approved revisions in the critical features of PMKJ-YES to make it more purposeful and beneficial for small businesses and agriculture. The new components of interest-free microloans and agriculture loans have been added to the scheme.