Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recently announced the launch of the Youth Business and Agricultural Loan Scheme, aimed at promoting self-employment and entrepreneurship among young people in Pakistan. At a ceremony in Islamabad, the Prime Minister explained that the scheme will provide soft loans to young individuals, ranging from 500,000 to 7.5 million rupees. The loans will be provided at different interest rates depending on the amount borrowed. For loans up to 500,000 rupees, the interest rate will be zero, and the loan can be paid back in three years. For loans between half a million to 1.5 million rupees, the interest rate will be 5%, with a repayment period of seven years. Lastly, loans between 1.5 million to 7.5 million rupees will have an interest rate of 7%, with a repayment period of eight years.
The Prime Minister also announced that the government will be distributing 100,000 laptops among talented students across Pakistan. He emphasized that the laptops will be distributed on merit and in a transparent manner. He also acknowledged that he would like to provide more laptops to the youth but financial constraints have become a hurdle.
The Prime Minister emphasized the government’s commitment to steer the country out of the current economic crisis and expressed readiness to complete the ninth review of the IMF Program. He stated that the government is prepared to negotiate with the IMF team to complete the review, which is vital to put the economy back on track of stability and progress.
In summary, the Youth Business and Agricultural Loan Scheme launched by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif aims to promote self-employment and entrepreneurship among young people by providing soft loans at different interest rates. The Prime Minister also announced the distribution of 100,000 laptops among talented students, and emphasized the government’s commitment to steer the country out of the current economic crisis and complete the ninth review of the IMF Program.
