LAHORE: Punjab has disbursed Rs70 billion in interest-free business loans and digitized hundreds of government services, officials said, as the province made its case to a federal committee visiting Lahore to coordinate investment and ease-of-business reforms.
The figures were presented in a briefing to a special committee led by Haroon Akhtar, the prime minister's advisor on industry and production, during a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif. Prime Minister's Coordinator Ehsan Afzal Khan also attended.
Under the Asaan Karobar Finance Scheme, 112,000 businesses have received financial assistance, according to the briefing. The province's "e-Biz" platform now offers a single-window, one-portal system delivering 437 services across 28 departments and processing 210,031 applications, and the government says it has simplified lengthy documentation requirements to a few documents. The "Maryam Ki Dastak" program has provided 4.5 million digital services to residents.
Sharif used the meeting to offer the federal government technical support for its own digitalization efforts, and said her administration is expanding the tax net to raise revenue without imposing new taxes. She described industrialization as the fastest route to development and said skill development programs have been consolidated under one roof with sector-specific training.
Akhtar said the recommendations the federal committee brought to Lahore had already been implemented in Punjab, and that the province's progress was evident "in every project." The Federal Reforms Committee praised the chief minister's investment-promotion measures.
Sharif also said cluster mapping of the province is complete, with plans to establish cottage industry hubs, and that her government is promoting livestock to increase meat exports. She voiced confidence in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's investment push and in the Special Investment Facilitation Council.
