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LAHORE, Sep 27 (APP):Federal Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain on Friday expressed satisfaction on the implementation process of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Policy.
He chaired the 12th Meeting of National Coordination Committee on SME Development at the SMEDA Head Office. Federal Secretary Industries and Production Saif Anjum and Joint Secretary Nisar Ahmad Phularwan accompanied the minister in this meeting.
SMEDA CEO Socrat Aman Rana gave a presentation to update the implementation process of the SME Policy 2021 & Action Plan on this occasion.
Rana Tanveer Hussain also appreciated SMEDA’s active coordination with provincial working groups to expedite the formulation of implementation strategies in all provinces and administrative units.
He said the SME sector was the back-bone of economy that was why the federal government was spearheading SME development to create a conducive business environment for SMEs, enabling them to address the prevailing challenges.
He said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had established a Steering Committee on SMEs for monitoring and tracking SME development in the country. The committee had been entrusted to oversee initiatives and ensure the implementation of the National SME Policy, he added. The decisions made in NCC meetings were critical for SME development in Pakistan, and all relevant departments had been advised to make every effort to implement these decisions with full commitment and adherence, he said.
He further said the SME Census was crucial for informed policy-making and advised the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) to actively prioritize and expedite the process of conducting a national-level SME Census.
He said the Prime Minister was keen to improving access to finance for SMEs and under his direction the State Bank of Pakistan had proposed to re-define SMEs by increasing their threshold. However, he urged the SBP to simplify the loan application farms for ease of SMEs.
Similarly, he also emphasized to simplify the cumbersome regulatory procedures at both the federal and provincial levels to foster a conducive business environment for SMEs, as suggested in the SME Policy.
Later, Rana Tanveer Hussain also chaired a meeting of the Consultative Group on the National Women Entrepreneurship Policy and Action Plan. SMEDA CEO Socrat Aman Rana gave an exclusive presentation in this regard.
Referring to the draft of National Women Entrepreneurship Policy, the minister said, “Women entrepreneurship plays a vital role in promoting gender equality, reducing poverty, and driving economic growth.”
After a thorough review of the Policy, the minister advised to get final comments from the stakeholders on this policy within a week so that the policy may be submitted for approval of the Cabinet at the earliest possible.
A large number of senior officials from provincial and federal departments including SBP, FBR, TDAP, PIDC and SECP participated in the meeting.