RAWALPINDI: 102 youth granted small loans - Micro-credit scheme launched
By Our Staff Reporter
RAWALPINDI, April 4: Punjab Governor Lt-Gen (retired) Khalid Maqbool on Sunday launched the micro-credit scheme for the district by granting small loans to 102 unemployed youth.
These loans of Rs10,000 to Rs20,000 have been provided by the Zarai Tarqiati Bank, while their interest would be paid by philanthropists.
Besides, a revolving fund has been established with the help of seed money provided by Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a private housing society. The revolving fund has been set up with a seed money of Rs7 million. This fund would help sustain the micro-credit scheme.
A team has been constituted under District Nazim Raja Tariq Kiani to help these youngmen identify profitable business that could be started with this amount. Other members of the committee include vice-chancellor, University of Arid Agriculture and experts from Fatima Jinnah University.
Speaking on the occasion, the governor said these youth should not be treated as poor, rather they were highly talented. These people, he said, were victims of injustice on part of the society.
He urged the people to pray that Allah saved them from indigence. Poverty is not something of which we can be proud of. He said these philanthropists by helping these youngmen had not done them any personal favour rather it was their right.
Governor Maqbool said Allah had made service to humanity mandatory for all Muslims. It is good that our people have started solving their own problems by cooperating with the government, which has limited resources, he added. District Nazim Tariq Kiani said very high interest rates by banks on small loans led to the failure of similar schemes in the past.
He said it was a matter of pride for Rawalpindi district that such a philanthropic project was being launched from here. Senator Rozeena Shamim Alam, on this occasion, announced a grant of Rs5.5 million for a water supply project for Dhoke Chaudhrian.
