KP cabinet approves soft loans for youth, SMEs

F.P. Report
PESHAWAR: The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has given in-principle approval for the provision of concessional loans for youth, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) of the province.
Further concessions will be given by Bank of Khyber on the loan schemes on easy terms, the cost of which will be borne by the provincial government. This approval was granted by the caretaker provincial cabinet in a meeting held the other day with Caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan in the chair, said an official handout issued here on Wednesday.
In addition to the members of the caretaker cabinet and chief secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, the concerned administrative secretaries also participated in the meeting. On this occasion, the representatives of Bank of Khyber gave a detailed briefing to the Cabinet about State Bank of Pakistan loans for SMEs and youth and the benefits of the province’s participation in such schemes and the benefits of this initiative of the provincial government. The interest rate will be reduced to zero on the youth and institutions taking loans.
The caretaker provincial cabinet also approved the transfer of 2 kanal and six marla of land for the establishment of a public library in Upper Karam, while it also approved the construction of a judicial complex on 13.5 kanal of land in Sarai Naurang (Lucky Marwat). The provincial cabinet did not approve the at-source deduction of the 88.673 million dollar debt owed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the funds received from the federal government for the eradication of polio and the payment of the provincial government’s share of the 155 million dollar loan for the future. It should be noted that the Punjab province has already opposed such conditions of the federal government.
In the meeting, the provincial cabinet approved the review of the budget estimates allocated to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Housing Authority for the year 2022-23 and the budget estimates for 2023-24 while the cabinet approved all Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA’s) enforcement officers and delegation of Controlling Officers to concerned Assistant Commissioners.