Unemployed women to get interest-free loans for businesses

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has announced to provide interest-free loans to unemployed women for starting large-scale businesses.

To ensure economic stability, the central bank decided to provide interest-free loans to unemployed women for starting their own businesses.

The announcement was made by the SBP Deputy Chief Manager in Dera Ismail Khan Fazal Muqeem while addressing a one-day seminar titled ‘Women bankability and banking on equality’ at Government Polytechnic Institute (GPI) for women of Dera Ismail Khan.

By starting their own businesses, Fazal Muqeem said that women would be able to support their parents and families besides providing good education to their children.

He was of the view that the current wave of inflation affected the whole society including the rich and poor, the state news agency reported.

However, he said, it becomes difficult for the poor to manage the expenses of routine life as their income resources are very much limited.

The employment opportunities are also limited in the country, therefore starting of own business is the only way to handle such a situation, he added.

He informed that the prime minister introduced different policies with the support of the SBP to make unemployed women as productive citizens.

Under these policies, the bank accounts of unemployed women were being opened along with men on equality basis so that they could be provided with interest-free loans up to Rs0.5 million.

Addressing the seminar, Assistant Director Muhammad Zubair said that today’s era is of digital mobile app and citizens must take benefit from this facility.He said the citizens should become income tax filer which would make them avoid many taxes.

On this occasion, GPI for women Principal Sara Khan thanked the guests from the SBP.She said their institution was working to make its students skillful so that they could become self-sufficient and useful citizens of the society.

She said many women would get benefit of this SBP’s policy in future. She expressed the hope that such type of useful seminars would be organized in future so that poor and eligible women of Dera Ismail Khan could be benefitted.

On this occasion, GPI for women Principal Sarah Khan, SBP Dera Ismail Khan Assistant Chief Manager Muhammad Amir Ejaz, Assistant Director Muhammad Zubair, Rizwanullah Shah, GPI (women) Placement Officer Zafar Awan, a good number of teachers and female students were present on the occasion.