Rs150bn PM’s Youth Development Package: All you need to know

The federal government has unveiled Prime Minister’s Youth Development Package worth Rs150 billion aimed to empower the youth which are the ‘biggest asset’ of the country.

Under the umbrella of the PM’s Youth Development Initiatives, as many as 15 programmes were launched by Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal at a ceremony here.

The 15 youth development initiatives include 60,000 paid internships, technical and vocational trainings for 100,000 youth, distribution of 100,000 laptops, provision of 5,000 scholarships for the students of Balochistan and erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), around 1,000 PhD scholarships at top 100 universities in the United States and 75 scholarships at top 25 universities of the world.

The program also includes establishing 21 university campuses in remote districts, 250 sports complexes, youth peace and development student councils in 80 universities, 75 leadership awards, 500 innovation grants worth Rs 5-20 million each, Rasta grants for research, seven centers of excellence and uplift of 20 poorest districts of the country.

حکومت نے نوجوانوں کو انفارمیشن ٹیکنالوجی میں فنی مہارت مہیا کرنے کے لیے #YouthSkillsTrainingProgram کا آغاز کیا۔ آئیندہ 3 سالوں میں 100000 نوجوانوں کو جدید فنی مہارت دی جائے گی تاکہ ملک کو آنے والے دور کے تقاضوں کے مطابق ہیومن ریسورس مہیا یو۔ @betterpakistan #PM4Youth pic.twitter.com/9xg8SRLl9U

— Ministry of Planning and Development (@PlanComPakistan) March 21, 2023

“The two-third of the country’s population is based on young people who must be empowered through education and skills so that they can contribute to the socio-economic development of the country,” Professor Ahsan Iqbal said while addressing the ceremony participants.

The minister said Pakistan would cater to the youth bulge till 2050 as it was essential to utilize their abilities so that they could play their due role in the growth of the national economy.

Internship Programme

The Prime Minister’s BaIkhtiyar Naujawan Internship Programme will help in addressing the critical entry barriers to the market and enhance employability, under which 60,000 paid internships will be awarded to young graduates from across Pakistan.

To eradicate the sense of deprivation from the people of Balochistan, who remained neglected in the past, the incumbent government initiated a scholarship programme for the students of Balochistan, and ex-FATA, under which around 5,000 scholarships will be awarded.

✳️حکومت نے نوجوانوں کے لیے 12 ارب روپے کی لاگت سے لیپ ٹاپ سکیم کا دوبارہ اجرا کیا ہے۔
✳️بلوچستان اور سابقہ فاٹا کے طلبا کو 5000 سکالرشپ فراہم کیے جائیں گے جو علاقائی تفاوت ختم کرنے میں مدد فراہم کرے گا۔

وفاقی وزیر احسن اقبال کا یوتھ ڈویلپمنٹ انیشیٹوز کی تقریب سے خطاب#PM4Youth pic.twitter.com/Mp7KUaqojD

— Ministry of Planning and Development (@PlanComPakistan) March 21, 2023

This included 30,000 internships in the public sector development projects with an estimated cost of Rs9.6bn and 30,000 interns in the private industrial sector at the cost of Rs9bn — both through the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) — for up to one year.

Furthermore, under the Talented Youth Internship Programme, 30,000 unemployed, graduated youth would be provided Rs25,000 per month internship for six months in the private sector with an additional cost of Rs9bn through the Public Sector Development Programme.

Free laptops

In addition, about 100,000 youth would be provided free laptops at the cost of Rs10bn. These projects are in addition to the Rs87bn already approved by the government for development schemes in the constituencies of 174 MNAs supporting the prime minister.

The government also revived a project to provide laptops to 100,000 youth, including 20,000 youngsters in Balochistan.

In addition, about 75 shining students who secure admissions to the top 25 universities would be fully funded by the government.

Speaking on the occasion, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said that that for the first time in the history of Pakistan, the government had started a project to uplift the 20 poorest districts of the country and Rs40bn has been earmarked for this purpose.