KARACHI, Aug 19: State Bank Governor Dr Ishrat Hussain on Thursday said that a strategy had been devised to bring the poverty level down to 14 to 15 per cent in the next 10 years.

"We are already working on the plan to enhance the purchasing power of the middle and lower middle class that will be instrumental to move the economy on a faster track and create jobs, besides focusing on agriculture and SMEs," he told members of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry during his visit there.

The SBP governor said the country had moved from 3.2 per cent growth rate to 6.5 per cent with brighter prospects to reach the seven to eight per cent level in the coming years. The loan disbursement for the purchase of house started two years ago that helped revive 37 allied industries, he added.

Dr Ishrat said the private sector and the government had to work together to compete at the world level. "We have to give up the habit of blaming each other and relying on government concessions and ignoring agriculture," he said, adding businessmen and the agriculture sector were inter-dependent.

Emphasizing the high growth rate to reduce poverty, he said high purchasing power could trigger demand for consumer goods and help the industry become feasible due to economy of scale. The consumer financing helped revive the housing industry, raised the living standard of the people, he added.

Similarly, he said the total car production in the country was 30,000 units per year, but the leasing facility created such a huge demand that this year, the production rose to 130,000.

About the agriculture sector, the SBP governor said it was unjustified to say that this sector was not paying tax as the business and industrial segments of the society had to put more money in the pockets of the farmers to keep the economy on a fast track.

Dr Ishrat said that 66 per cent population depended upon agriculture and when they would produce more, the prices would come down and inflation would remain under control and vice versa. The SBP governor said that a business-friendly premier was a good omen for the economy viz-a-viz country. -APP