Prime Minister raises youth loan cap to Rs25 million
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif increased the maximum personal loan limit to Rs25 million during a meeting in Lahore on Sunday.
New financial limits for young entrepreneurs
The prime minister raised the ceiling from Rs7.5 million to Rs25 million for the Youth Business and Agriculture Loan schemes. He ordered that these funds be distributed through easy installments to help new business owners expand their operations. A total of Rs292 billion has been allocated for disbursement during the current financial year. Officials expect around 266,700 young people to benefit from this programme in fiscal year 2026-27.
Age reduction and gender quotas set
The minimum eligible age for obtaining loans was reduced from 21 years down to 18 years. This change allows teenagers to start businesses and join agricultural ventures at an earlier stage. Additionally, thirty per cent of all loans under the programme must be reserved specifically for women. Since January 2023, a total of 581,341 young people have received assistance worth Rs313.9 billion.
Officials attend review meeting in Lahore
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and SAPM Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan attended the high-level session to review progress. The prime minister praised the finance ministry team for empowering youth and increasing participation in agriculture. He directed the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority to provide technical guidance and consultancy services. Since the start of the initiative, loans have been disbursed to ten times more beneficiaries than the previous decade.
All 2 outlets report consistently
No differences in figures, names or dates across these reports.
- Business Recorder
- Dawn
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