Govt announces new loans for students and youngsters

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has announced new loans for students and youngsters.

Chairman of the Prime Minister Youth Programme, (PMYP) Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan, has said that as many as Rs1 million loan would be given to youngsters going abroad for employment.

Talking to APP, Mashhood said that the amount would be provided to assist them with training, visa, travel expenses and initial settlement costs.

“The aim of this initiative was to provide better economic opportunities to young individuals and enable them to compete in the international job market”, he said.

He informed that the State Bank of Pakistan has announced the expansion of the Prime Minister Youth Loan Scheme.

In addition to business loans, young individuals will now also have the facility to obtain loans for laptops aimed to provide better educational and professional development opportunities to the youth so they can enhance their skills and actively contribute to national progress.

Chairman PMYP further stated that students aged 18 to 30 enrolled in Higher Education Commission (HEC) approved institutions will be eligible to acquire loans for laptops, which will help fulfil their educational needs under this scheme.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz has expanded Honhaar Scholarship Program to students of other provinces.

The decision was taken in a high-level meeting on higher education chaired by Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz here in Lahore today.

In the the meeting, CM Maryam Nawaz approved the expansion of Honhaar Scholarship Program for students from other provinces with the same eligibility criteria as Punjab.

The meeting agreed to expand the number of laptops under the Punjab Laptop Scheme increased to 110,000 for students.

Formal approval for the Honhaar Scholarship Program for second-year, third-year, and fourth-year students in Punjab, while the minimum eligibility criteria for laptop distribution has been set at 65per cent marks.

Addressing the meeting, Maryam Nawaz said laptops and scholarships are the right of every student and the government’s responsibility.