KARACHI – The federal government has relaunched Prime Minister’s Youth Loan Scheme to provide interest-free and subsidized loan schemes to youth.
After remaining suspended for the last five months, the project has again launched with tweaks to make it more beneficial for businesses and agriculture operating at small and medium levels.
In a notification, the State Bank of Pakistan said ‘the revised scheme has introduced two new components of financing, namely micro-loans and agriculture loans’.
SBP maintained that the scheme offers financing of up to Rs 75 lace each in three slabs, for a maximum period of up to nine years. It further added that one-fourth of the loans will go to women borrowers and the processing time will not exceed 1.5 months.
Eligibility Criteria
- Pakistani national, aged between 21 and 45 years with entrepreneurial potential - Matriculation or equivalent education for IT/E-Commerce related businesses; age limit lowered to 18 years - For agriculture loans, State Bank Indicative Credit Limits & Eligible Items for Agriculture Financing 2020 will be applicable
Loan Size
Tier 1 (T1) Up to Rs 0.5 million
Tier 2 (T2) Above Rs 0.5 million and up to Rs 1.5 million
Tier 3 (T3) Above Rs 1.5 million and up to Rs 7.5 million
The ousted government led by Imran Khan first introduced Kamyab Jawan Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme while the Sharif-led government revised the scheme and renamed it to Prime Minister’s Youth Business & Agriculture Loan Scheme.