Govt to resume Prime Minister's laptop scheme

Islamabad: The coalition government has announced Wednesday that Prime Minister’s laptop scheme will be revived and distributed amongst one hundred thousand high achievers.

The government has announced the revival of various schemes under Prime Minister's Youth Program (PMYP) with the aim to provide livelihood opportunities to the youth, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb and Special Assistant on Youth Affairs Shaza Fatima Khawaja told media in Islamabad.

The Information Minister said the program was launched in 2013 by former Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.

“Soon after coming to power, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif started work to revive it,” she added.

Marriyum Aurangzeb also said the loan scheme under Prime Minister Youth Program is aimed at providing loans to more than fifty million youth in the age bracket of fifteen and twenty nine.

She inform that the youth can access these opportunities by visiting PMYP.GOV.PK.

Shaza Fatima Khawaja, the Special Assistant on Youth Affairs, said: “The scheme is aimed at promoting entrepreneurship in the country”.

“There will be no interest or collateral on the loan up to five hundred thousand rupees,” she stated adding that the women will also be encouraged to get this loan.

The Special Assistant stated that there will be 5% interest rate on the loan of 1.5 million rupees, mentioning that 7% interest will be charged on the loan over 1.5 million and 7.5 million.

“It is the first time that a national youth employment policy will be prepared which will bridge the gap between the industries and academia,” Shaza told the media.

She also informed that under this policy, our aim will be to provide two million jobs to the youth every year.

Under Skills Development Program, the Special Assistant on Youth Affairs said, “One hundred thousand youth will be provided with training in different fields with special focus on Information Technology (IT)”.

She further added that sports initiatives are also being launched under the Prime Minister's Youth Program and applications are currently being accepted for the cricket and football competitions.