Press Release

Human Resources to be pushed towards development

Good employment opportunities would definitely enable the human resources to act as a driving force for economic turnaround of the country. Punjab Rozgar Scheme is an initiative in right direction by the government which would give tangible outcomes.

It was the crux of speeches delivered at a presentation on “Punjab Rozgar Scheme” at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry. LCCI Vice President Tahir Manzoor Chaudhry, LCCI Executive Committee Member and Convener S/C on Women Entrepreneur Development and Resource Center & Women Advocacy Forum Shireen Arshad Khan and Convener S/C on Hair Care and Skin Care Ayesha Farooqui, LCCI EC Members Haji Asif Sehar, Zeshan Sohail Malik and Shahid Nazir spoke on the occasion. On the occasion, a briefed presentation was also given by Sabih Zaka, Hafiz Abdul Mustafa, Rahim Sarfraz, KashifNazir from Punjab Small Industries Corporation.

Speaking on the occasion, LCCI Vice President Tahir Manzoor Chaudhry said that SME sector needs special hand-holding. It is worth mentioning that SMEs gets only 6.4% of the private sector financing in Pakistan while the number of SME borrowers in the country are just 189,000. Access to finance will facilitate the SMEs in getting the required access to Technology and enhance their export competitiveness.

He hoped that collaboration between Punjab Small Industries Corporation and the Bank of Punjab for this useful initiative of the Government would go a long way.

The LCCI Vice President said that LCCI has proposed the government to announce various packages to support the private sector that was hit hard due to country-wide lockdown. Government deserves appreciation for accepting the proposals and announced the some financial schemes and at the same time giving relief package for the deferment of principal amount.

Tahir Manzoor Chaudhry said that since these loans which range from Rs.100,000 to Rs.1 million under 1^st Category and from Rs.1 million to Rs.10 million under 2^nd Category are being given at low mark-up rate of 4-5 percent, so, there is a tremendous opportunity to enhance their access to credit. Lahore Chamber appreciates that equity ratio for women is 90:10 as compared to 80:20 for men.

LCCI Executive Committee Member and Convener S/C on Women Entrepreneur Development and Resource Center & Women Advocacy Forum Shireen Arshad Khan hoped that the process of applying for this scheme will be simple and the documentary requirements should not be lengthy and cumbersome. It is very important that certain details should be shared with private sector so that we may make them aware of financial benefits offered through these schemes.