The processing time for applications under the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Scheme has been reduced to 15 working days, while the number of required documents has been cut from 25 to just five.
A high-level meeting was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss the provision of loans and access to finance for the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Scheme, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the agriculture sector.
The meeting was attended by federal ministers Rana Tanveer Hussain, Dr Musadik Masood Malik, Attaullah Tarar, Riaz Hussain Pirzada, Ahsan Khan Cheema and Shaza Fatima Khawaja; Prime Minister’s Adviser Haroon Akhtar; Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kiani; the CEOs of JS Bank, Askari Bank, Allied Bank, Habib Metro Bank, Bank of Khyber and MCB Islamic Bank; and senior officials from the relevant institutions.
The meeting was briefed on lending figures for the housing, agriculture and SME sectors. It was stated that banks were strengthening their institutional capacity to serve these three priority sectors. Work was also underway to promote developer financing, and a committee had been established for this purpose.
The meeting was informed that loans worth Rs448 billion had been approved for 75,198 applicants under the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Scheme. So far, loans worth Rs76 billion had been disbursed to 14,000 people.
A target has been set to provide Rs700 billion in loans for 125,000 housing units during the current year. The processing time for housing finance applications has been reduced to just 15 working days, while the documentation requirement has been cut from 25 documents to five.
It was further reported that the total volume of agricultural loans stood at Rs1,352 billion, benefiting 3.455 million people. By June 2027, the target is to increase agricultural lending to Rs1,500 billion and the number of beneficiaries to 4.5 million.
In the SME sector, loans worth Rs1,137 billion have been provided to more than 352,000 business owners. By June 2027, the target is to increase SME lending to Rs1,500 billion and the number of businesses receiving loans to 575,000.
The briefing also highlighted ongoing measures to revise SME regulations and make housing finance procedures simpler and more effective.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the timely provision of loans to the housing, SME and agriculture sectors was essential for promoting the national economy.
The prime minister encouraged banks that had actively contributed to financing these priority sectors for national development. He urged banks whose performance remained unsatisfactory to improve their results so that they, too, could benefit from government incentives.
The prime minister directed the relevant ministries, secretaries and the State Bank of Pakistan to consult stakeholders associated with the SME, agriculture and housing finance sectors. He said proposals should be obtained from relevant stakeholders to make ongoing schemes more effective and results-oriented.
He instructed the relevant authorities to complete the consultation process by the end of the current month and submit their recommendations.
The prime minister also directed that inactive PASSCO warehouses and silos be operated under public-private partnerships. He said cooperation with the private sector should be used to expand storage capacity and ensure the safe storage of farmers’ produce.
Shehbaz Sharif appreciated Allied Bank’s model of establishing grain storage warehouses and providing loans to farmers against their stored commodities. He directed that the model be expanded with private-sector participation.
The prime minister also welcomed Allied Bank’s investment plan for a proposed SME park.
He directed that the process of providing information and documentation for people seeking to benefit from the Apna Ghar Housing Scheme be further simplified. He also called for making it easier to obtain unencumbered title deeds required for housing finance.
The prime minister instructed the committee on developer financing to finalise its recommendations and submit them as soon as possible.
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