Day: July 28, 2021

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Mr. Shaukat Tarin, chaired a meeting of the Steering Committee and Advisory Board of the Kamyab Pakistan Program (KPP) through a video-link.

The meeting was held to fine-tune the modalities of the Kamyab Pakistan Programme (KPP) scheduled to be launched soon. The Finance Minister welcomed prominent participants from the private sector and commended their professional expertise in their respective fields. He thanked them for their valuable input/suggestions with reference to Kamyab Pakistan Program and reiterated to ensure successful implementation of KPP through a collaborative and cohesive approach.

The Finance Minister further stated that the KPP aims to uplift 4.5 million underprivileged households who are registered with the National Socio-Economic Registry (NSER) of the Ehsaas program. The KPP is a flagship program that shall extend micro-loans to entrepreneurs, small businessmen, and farmers, enabling them to access micro-credit at 0% mark-up without collateral. The program will enable underprivileged families to break the vicious cycle of poverty, he added.

The Kamyab Pakistan Program is aimed at extending agricultural loans to farmers with landholding up to 12.5 acres under “Kamyab Kissan” scheme. Micro-loans would be extended up to Rs. 150,000 (per crop) for procurement of agricultural inputs. In addition, loans up to Rs. 200,000 would be given for procurement of machinery and equipment. Another component of the KPP is the introduction of a new tier in the Naya Pakistan Low-Cost Housing Scheme, wherein loans of Rs.2.7 million (for NAPHDA) and Rs.2 million (for Non-NAPHDA) projects will be given at subsidized rates.

Similarly, under “Kamyab Karobar”, loans shall be extended for small businesses and start-ups at 0% mark-up in both urban and rural areas. Dairy, Livestock, Poultry and Fisheries sectors will be included. The loan size is up to Rs. 500,000 for Kamyab Karobar. The cumulative disbursement under the program would be Rs.1.6 trillion over the period of 3 years.

KPP will also integrate with the government’s ongoing skill development program for educational and vocational training under ‘Kamyab Hunarmand’ scheme.

The Finance Minister appreciated the motivation and commitment of all concerned who are making utmost efforts in designing the whole program and taking it forward towards its formal launch to benefit the marginalized segments of the society.

SAPM on Finance and Revenue Dr. Waqar Masood, SAPM on Youth Affairs Mr. Usman Dar, Chairman RSPN Mr. Shoaib Sultan, Secretary Finance Division Mr. Yusuf Khan, Executive Director Akhuwat Dr. Amjad Saqib, CEO PMN Mr. Mohsin Ahmed, CEO NRSP Mr. Rashid Bajwa, Chairman HBL Mr. Sultan Ali Allana, President BOP Mr. Zafar Masud, MD Kashaf Foundation Ms. Roshaneh Zafar, Ex-Governor SBP Syed Salim Raza and other senior officers participated in the meeting.

Source: Pro Pakistani

A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Power was held on Wednesday at Parliament House, Islamabad.

The meeting commenced with an overview of all policies related to guidelines for setting up of IPPs. Secretary Power Division provided the Committees with details regarding policies formulated in 2002, 2006 and 2015. He informed the Committee that a subsidy reform proposal has been approved by the Cabinet and added that this will ensure the equitable distribution of power. It was asserted that line losses and non-recovery are one of the main reasons for increase in Circular Debt.

In a similar context, members inquired about electricity units that are provided free to DISCOs employees. It was also stressed that the reason for line losses is the use of archaic distribution lines and machinery. The Committee asserted that urban and rural territories must be divided to ensure ease of recovery.

Discussing the Power Purchase Agreement between National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) and K-Electric, the Committee directed that details must be provided to the Committee under Rule 181 of the Rules of Business and Conduct.

While discussing the performance of QESCO, Committee members stressed the need for provision to areas of Jaffarabad, Nasirabad and Gwadar. Member of the Chamber of Commerce Gwadar, who was present in the meeting, shared the plight of Gwadar and the way electricity shortfall and outages were shutting down businesses in Gwadar. He said that the Fish Export facility in Gwadar has been shut due to the closing of 60 ice factories as a result of recurrent power outages in the city.

Chairman Committee, Senator Saifullah Abro directed that CEO QESCO visit Gwadar at the earliest to address the issues and find alternate solutions.

Taking up the issue of the process of appointments in PESCO the Committee stressed that the report of the sub-Committee constituted earlier on the issue must be submitted on the Committee along with details of the new criterion for hiring and a copy of the advertisement placed in newspapers.

Chaired by Senator Saifullah Abro, the meeting was attended by Senator Fida Muhammad, Senator Syed Shibli Faraz, Senator Saifullah Sarwar Khan Niazi, Senator Zeeshan Khanzada, Senator Prince Ahmed Umer Ahmedzai, Senator Sana Jamali, Senator Haji Hidayatullah Khan, Senator Bahramand Khan Tangi, Senator Hafiz Abdul Karim, Senator Asad Ali Khan Junejo, Senator Ahmed Khan and senior officers from the Power Division, along with all concerned.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The Digital Pakistan Policy (DPP) 2021 is expected to be launched by the end of August 2021, envisaging providing the necessary elements to tab the digital global market, economic growth and citizen empowerment.

This was stated by Member Information Technology (IT) of the Ministry Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Junaid Imam while addressing at a 2-day consultative meeting on Digital Pakistan Policy (DPP) 2021.

Oxfam in Pakistan and Bargad, in collaboration with the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MOITT), organized a consultative meeting on DPP 2021. The meeting discussed ways to include rural youth especially women, transgender persons and disabled persons in the DPP 2021.

Participants were briefed about the process of developing the Digital Pakistan Policy 2021 by the Ministry officials.

Imam said that the DPP 2021 is being formulated through a comprehensive consultative process from all four provinces and the two regions (Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir).

He said the policy is a start of a digital era for Pakistan and will provide the necessary elements to tab the digital global market. Digitization is not only about business, it is also for providing services to marginalized groups. The overall objective of the DPP 2021 is economic growth and citizen empowerment, he added.

Sabiha Shaheen, Executive Director Bargad, said that policy design is as important as policy implementation. The real issue is to make policy work for the marginalized groups in implementation.

Seher Afsheen from Oxfam stressed the need for robust digital transformation. Highlighting the benefits of a digital Pakistan, she shared how she foresees the Digital Pakistan Policy (DPP) 2021 paving the way to enable growth and development, especially for the youth and women who represent roughly 60 percent and 49 percent respectively of the population. Ensuring women and girls have equal access to Information Computer Technologies will help reduce inequalities, support gender equality, increase productivity, and improve access to health and education, thereby ensuring equitable participation in social, political and economic spheres, thus breaking barriers of isolation.

Digital transformation can help in creating a future that is equal, where women and girls along with marginalized communities will be able to access better opportunities and live without the menace of poverty.

Barkan Saeed, Chairman PASHA, said the digital policy should specify actionable initiatives. Rural youth need affordable internet, devices and skills to benefit from Pakistan’s potential in the export market globally. Raza Sukhera gave a presentation on the DPP.

The meeting was attended among others by officials of the MoITT and representatives of Federal Commerce Ministry, Kamyab Jawan National Youth Development Program & Office of the PM Advisor on Youth Affairs, Ministry of Planning Development & Special Initiatives, Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Climate Change, National Commission on the Status of Women, Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry (IWCCI), Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT and ITES, Oxfam Youth Advisory Board (YAB), academia, INGOs, civil society and youth organizations/networks, private sector, incubators, practitioners of digital social enterprises, transgender persons, differently-abled persons, and parliamentarians.

The day focused on sharing the findings and progress of DPP 2021 with the participants followed by group works around three pillars of the policy which were the inclusion of

1. Rural youth especially women

2. Transgender persons and

3. Differently-abled persons.

4.

Source: Pro Pakistani

FBR has launched a single identifier number for all domestic taxes. Under this initiative, a taxpayer can use all applications under the Income Tax, Sales Tax and Federal Excise duty by mere use of CNIC if a taxpayer is an individual.

In case of partnership firms and companies, the National Tax Number (NTN) shall be the common tax identifier number. In this manner, the Sales Tax, Income Tax and Federal Excise law have been harmonized.

This is an important step toward ease of doing business and will substantially improve Pakistan’s rating on this count.

FBR has also launched a facility whereby taxpayers can now make payments without visiting the bank. This facility is widely known as Alternate Delivery Channel (ADC) payment mode. ADC allows taxpayer to pay all Federal taxes and duties i.e. Income Tax, Sales Tax, Customs duty and Federal Excise Duty from any commercial bank account through internet banking, ATM, mobile banking and Contact Centers.

However, in the case of the individual taxpayer, the alternate facility of making the payment over the counter (OTC) has still been allowed simultaneously along with the ADC channel till 30th September 2021, so that no inconvenience is caused to the individual taxpayer for seamless filing of returns.

Source: Pro Pakistani