Govt to Undertake Rs. 5 Billion Program to Support IT Startups

The federal government has decided to undertake a Rs. 5 billion program under the next fiscal year’s (FY24) Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) to support tech startups in the country. Official document available with ProPakistani reveals that the government has identified 9 projects under Prime Minister’s (PM) Initiatives in PSDP 2023-24, and the Prime Minister’s Initiatives Support for IT Start-ups and Venture Capital is one of these schemes earmarked for a nationwide rollout in the new fiscal year. According to the PSDP document, the Federal Government has proposed Rs. 5 billion for the Prime Minister’s Initiatives Support for IT Start-ups and Venture Capital program whereas it has proposed Rs. 10 billion for PM’s Youth Programme for Small Loan initiative. An amount of Rs. 5 billion has been suggested for Prime Minister’s Youth Skill Development and Rs. 5 billion for Pakistan Endowment Fund for Education. Moreover, Rs. 10 billion has been proposed for PM’s Laptop Scheme and Rs. 5 billion for the Production of Biochemicals and Bioproducts. The government has proposed Rs. 5 billion for Prime Minister’s Initiatives for Sports plus another Rs. 5 billion for Prime Minister’s Initiative for Green Revolution 2.0. An amount of Rs. 5 billion has been proposed for the Prime Minister’s Initiative for Women Empowerment. Separately, an amount of Rs. 30 billion out of an approved cost of Rs. 139 billion has been approved for the Prime Minister’s National Programme for Solarization of Agriculture Tubewells in Pakistan. It bears mentioning that the approval status of Prime Minister’s Initiatives is still under process and is expected to be cleared on budget day. Besides the PM’s initiatives, other schemes include the Establishment of Governance Innovation Lab, Women on Wheels, One Stop Service Centre for Special Economic Zone, and the Flood Protection Sector Program (FPSP-III).