The age limit for obtaining agriculture loans under the Kamyab Jawan Programme is being relaxed and extended from 45 years to 55 years, revealed Special Adviser to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Youth Affairs Usman Dar.
Dar, who is also the chairman of the PM’s Youth Programme, during an exclusive interview with Bol News, stated that to meet the requirements of citizens who want loans for the agriculture sector, the federal government is all set to offer a relaxation of up to 10 years under the programme. An approval for this relaxation in age limits will be obtained at the next meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC). He also shared that a similar attempt is being made to make loans available for women who are single-mothers and require finance in order to become entrepreneurs under the same programme.
The SAPM further told Bol News that, so far billions of rupees have already been awarded in loans to the youth of Pakistan under the Kamyab Jawan Programme. “We have been able to award loans up to the tune of Rs40 billion so far and more than 70,000 youths have been benefited out of the programme,” said Dar, while adding that, “the government has made every data regarding the programme available on its website and anybody can access it to learn how each province benefited from it along with the break ups of each division, district and Tehsil level loan scheme across Pakistan.”
Highlighting the transparency of the loan schemes, the politician stated that he was, “proud of the fact that everything in the programme is transparent and available online.” He maintained that the government has been so mindful regarding the need for accountability and transparency during the project. “Just make a call to someone who got the loan under the scheme for verification purposes and you will learn that no influence of any sort was involved in this process. Do it by yourself and verify the facts.
Ask the people whether they paid any money to obtain loans and whether there was any element of corruption involved in obtaining loans, and you will learn that everything is transparent,” Dar said. He further invited the media to investigate each and everything with regard to Kamyab Jawan Programme.
Moreover, he said there is no restrictions on anyone looking to obtain these loans. Adding that, every citizen within the age limit of 18 to 45 years may secure loans to become an entrepreneur. He further stated that the government has also extended the loan limits for each of the three tiers for obtaining loans under the programme, while adding that the Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme is for both startups and the expansion of existing businesses across the country.
According to Dar earlier the first tier which had maximum limit up to Rs1 million is being extended up to Rs2 million with three per cent markup on it and that no security or guarantee is required for obtaining loans under this tier. The second second tier which previously stood at Rs10 million is being extended up to Rs25 million which would have a mark up to four per cent. Likewise the third tier loan limit of Rs25 million is being extended up to Rs50 million which would have five per cent mark up on it.
Speaking of the progress of the programme, Dar said there are a lot of success stories with regards to the loan schemes. He maintained that a lot of people got benefitted from it and are are now successful entrepreneurs.
Kamyab Jawan Programme is the soul of PM Imran Khan’s vision to empower the youth as they are the most precious asset of Pakistan. The journey started with the establishment of Youth Affairs Wing with an aim to empower young people with skill sets, resources and self-reliance opportunities by initiating a grand youth development programme catering multiple domains. The minimum age for the applicant under this scheme is 21 years at the time of application submission. However, it is relaxable to 18 years in case of applicants applying for information technology or computer related businesses.
The maximum age limit is 45 years at the time of application submission. There is no general requirement of minimum educational qualification, though it will be a favorable consideration for decision making by the banks. However, in case of businesses which compulsorily require certain qualification, certifications, diplomas, authorisations or licenses, the same must be held by the applicant.
Furthermore, there is no gender discrimination in this scheme and applicants of all genders are offered equal opportunities. However, considering the ground realities and to protect the fair gender, a minimum of 25 per cent share on aggregate basis of all loans is kept for women. Additionally, government employees are strictly barred from applying under this scheme. Loans can be repaid in equal monthly, quarterly, bi-annually or annually installments. However, the exact repayment terms would depend upon the specific business types and banks’ decision. The applicant is encouraged to negotiate these terms at the time of the finalisation of the loan with the bank in question.
Investing in games
Meanwhile the PM launched, the biggest sports programme in the Pakistan’s history, Kamyab Jawan Sports Drive at Jinnah Stadium Sports Complex in Islamabad on December 6, 2021. While elaborating on this initiative, the SAPM stated that the premier had launched the talent hunt programme under the umbrella of Kamyab Jawan Sports Drive to promote talent of the youth in the areas of sports in the country. Dar said that this is an initiative which would engage the youth in healthy activities. He maintained that under this initiative’s first phase, phase sports like weight lifting, hockey and wresting would be taken up from next month, while adding that the wrestling drive would be launched from Gujranwala in March.
He appealed to the youth aged between 15-25 to get themseleves registered on the dedicated portal of the sports programme by February 28, 2022. A large number of young persons have already registered themselves on the portal, he added. He said in Punjab, Faisalabad, Lahore, Sialkot, Rawalpindi, among others, would serve as venues for this drive.
Likewise in Sindh cities including Karachi, Sukkar, Larkana and Mirpur Khas, would host the drive. Meanwhile, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Peshawar, Kohat, Swat, Hazara, Bannu, and more would be venues. In Balochistan cities like Quetta, Dera Murad Jamali and Khuzdar would serve as venues. Similarly, the capital territory, Muzafarabad, Sakardu and Gilgit are some other cities where sports event would be organised for this talent hunt programme.
While highlight that as much as 68 per cent of the population is below the age of 30 years in Pakistan, 94 per cent of the young generation does not have required sports events. Therefore, under the drive the youth would be provided facilities to highlight their talent and get themselves selected for higher level of games. Dar further said that around 650 sports events would be organised this year alone, and assured that there would not be involvement of politics in this process at any level.
Moreover, he also revealed that a body named the National Youth Development Authority is also being setup to take up sporting matters on the national level. He said after the 18th amendment in the Constitution sports have been devolved to the provinces and very little has been left for the federation to take care in this area.
