Employment promotion policies

The government has fully acknowledged prospective repercussions of growing unemployment in the country and has taken several steps to create job opportunities. Some of the important employment promotion measures are given below: Realizing that a sound base of economic development and its faster growth has a direct bearing on the growth of employment, the Government has taken various steps for reviving the economy and accelerating the pace of economic growth. These include,Revitalization of Agriculture Sector, Development of Small and Medium Enterprises Sector, Oil and Gas, and Information Technology and Construction Sector. An allocation of Rs. 134 billion has been made for the year 2002–03 in the Public Sector Development Pro ramme which is higher by Rs. 7 billion or 5.2 percent, compared to Rs. 127 billion in the previous year, 2001–02. As a result of implementation of the annual development pro ramme/schemes, a large number of job opportunities would be created in the country. The SMEs are labour intensive and encompass a wide range of activities, size, struc irc, productivity and input use. The SME development is a critical target of the Government for generating jobs on a large scale. In order to promote SME sector, the Government has established a Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) in 1999 to meet the needs of SMEs and work for the growth of this sector. The focus of these initiatives is on four areas namely availability of credit reduction in the cost of doing business, upgradation of technology and marketing of products in the international markets. It is hoped that this will have a positive impact on the job creation capacity of the SME sector. SME Bank was established on 1st January, 2002 with a mission to support and develop SME Sector in Pakistan by providing financial assistance and business support. It also provides financial assistance to women for self-employment and also extends its cooperation in the areas of management, product innovation and development, quality control, acquisition of new technology and product positioning and marketing. As a result of its activities, around 2000 job opportunities were created in the SME Sector. Self-employment is an important vehicle for arresting the rising trend in unemployment. Emphasis is being placed on income generation activities for promotion of self-employment at the grass root level. Khushhali Bank has been established to provide loans up to Rs. 30,000 to poor people to set up their own business. The operation of the Bank would be spread in every district and loans given by it will generate employment for the unemployed. By the end of December 2002, the Bank had its branches in 26 districts and had disbursed loans amounting to Rs. 883.77 million in 52,766 cases. As a result 316,596 persons had benefited. Khushalli Pakistan Programme is the Government’s principal social intervention aimed at generating employment through undertaking public works in the country. The programme includes (a) building farm to market roads, (b) undertaking water supply schemes © lining of water channels and de-silting of canals (d) provision and renovation of civic amenities in rural and urban areas and village electrification etc. The schemes under the programme are identified and selected at the district level through active community participation. During the period 2000–02, temporary jobs were provided to about 6,70,000 individuals.