Govt moves to revive small industry

Approves Rs2 billion for interventions under revamping plan Aurangzeb welcomed the continued scaling up of risk-sharing and partial guarantee schemes, particularly for SMEs and small farmers, to mobilise private capital. photo:file The government has approved the release of Rs2 billion to revive the small industry, which is considered a vital pillar of an economy but it has been virtually wiped out of the country. Small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) have been contributing to the economic growth of developed countries for decades but in Pakistan the big industry has turned into giants while swallowing the small ones. Considering the significant importance of SMEs, the present government is working on a plan of reviving the small industry, which can give a push to the modest annual economic growth, described as insufficient to absorb new entrants in the workforce every year. The Ministry of Industries and Production briefed the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) in a recent meeting that the prime minister had approved a business plan for revamping and transforming the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) into a dynamic, responsive and result-oriented institution with a strengthened focus on promoting sustainable growth, modernisation, productivity and competitiveness of Pakistan's small, medium and micro enterprises. The Ministry of Industries apprised the ECC that pursuant to approval from the prime minister, Rs2 billion had been provided in the federal budget for financial year 2026-27, specifically for approved interventions under the Smeda business plan. It was informed that the proposed funding was supported by a comprehensive cash plan, which set out intervention-wise implementation targets and the estimated expenditure and corresponding funding requirements during the current financial year. In order to ensure transparent, accountable and purpose-specific utilisation of funds allocated for implementation of the prime minister's revamping plan, a dedicated assignment account had been kept in the NBP main branch, Lahore under the Accountant General Pakistan Revenues (AGPR) sub-office, Lahore. The Ministry of Industries further informed the meeting that the Finance Division had conveyed its agreement to the release of Rs2 billion in favour of Smeda for approved interventions under the revamping plan. However, as the requisite provision was to be made through a technical supplementary grant, the approval of the ECC was required for incorporation/provision of the budgetary allocation. Accordingly, a summary for consideration of the ECC was being submitted to obtain its approval for the release of the supplementary grant. It was pointed out that a draft summary was also shared with the Finance Division for its views and comments. The Ministry of Industries said that the prime minister, both in his capacity as the PM and the minister in charge of Industries and Production Division, had accorded his approval for submission of the summary to the ECC. The ministry solicited approval of the ECC for provision of the technical supplementary grant amounting to Rs2 billion in favour of Smeda during financial year 2026-27 for making approved interventions under the business plan. The ECC considered the summary submitted by the Ministry of Industries titled "Technical Supplementary Grant for Implementation of the Business Plan under Prime Minister's Revamping Plan for Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) during Current Financial Year 2026-27" and approved the proposal.