The government has announced the revival of various schemes under Prime Minister's Youth Program (PMYP) with the aim to provide livelihood opportunities to the youth.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb and Special Assistant on Youth Affairs Shaza Fatima Khawaja shared details of the schemes at a news conference in Islamabad on Wednesday.

The Information Minister said the program was launched in 2013 by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. She said soon after coming to power, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif started work to revive it.

Marriyum Aurangzeb said the loan scheme under Prime Minister Youth Program is aimed at providing loans to more than fifty million youth in the age bracket of fifteen and twenty nine.

She said the youth can access these opportunities by visiting PMYP.GOV.PK.

Shaza Fatima Khawaja said approval has been accorded for the business and agriculture loans. She said the scheme is aimed at promoting entrepreneurship in the country. She said there will be no interest or collateral on the loan up to five hundred thousand rupees. She said the women will also be encouraged to get this loan.

The Special Assistant said there will be five percent interest rate on the loan of  1.5 million rupees. Seven percent interest will be charged on the loan over 1.5 million and 7.5 million.

She said it is the first time that a national youth employment policy will be prepared which will bridge the gap between the industries and academia.  Under this policy, our aim will be to provide two million jobs to the youth every year.

Under Skills Development Program, the Special Assistant on Youth Affairs said one hundred thousand youth will be provided with training in different fields with special focus on IT.

Shaza Fatima said that the laptop scheme is also being revived. This year, laptops will be distributed amongst one hundred thousand high achievers. There will be fifty percent share of women while transgender will also be accommodated. She said the quota of Balochistan in this scheme has also be doubled. She said the Prime Minister will soon launch this scheme which is aimed at enabling our youth better compete with the world.

The Special Assistant said that sports initiatives are also being launched under the Prime Minister's Youth Program.  She said talent hunt has been completed for hockey competitions and soon provincial and national leagues will be held. She said applications are currently being accepted for the cricket and football competitions.