KARACHI, Jan 26: President Asif Ali Zardari will make a computerised draw on Friday for recipients of the Waseela-i-Haq poverty alleviation programme, for which the Sindh government has provided Rs12 billion to give interest-free loans of Rs300,000 each to about 35,000 eligible youths.

The recipients of the loan must be unemployed, at least matriculate and aged not less than 19 and not more that 35.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah presided over the meeting. It was attended by Finance Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and BISP chairperson Farzana Raja.

The chief minister said more than 250,000 people would benefit from the scheme, which would also generate economic activity in every union council.

He said Sindh had always had a high unemployment rate because of largely underdeveloped industrial and service sectors.

He said Rs100 billion had been disbursed under different poverty alleviation programmes and more than 4.5 million people had benefited from them.

The chief minister said transparency would be the yardstick for the Waseela-i-Haq programme.

The provincial finance minister said the programme had been worked out in less than 10 days on the directives of President Zardari.

The basic design for the Waseela-i-Haq programme would be based on the National Poverty Scorecard Survey data managed and processed by the BISP since July 2010, Murad Ali Shah added.

The BISP chairperson said 34,285 people could be trained and provided loans through the sanctioned amount.

The recipients would also be provided training, support and advice, she said.

Ms Raja said data of about half a million people, 60 per cent of them women, would be included in the draw.

Disbursement of loans will commence in 45 days.