- Urges other provinces to announce power relief package for their people like Punjab
- Cabinet approves ‘PM’s Skills Development Company’ to generate, and manage funds for technical and vocational training
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif urged other provincial governments to follow in the footsteps of the Punjab government and announce power relief packages in their respective provinces.
“The Punjab government’s package for electricity consumers, using electricity between 200 to 500 units, is from the provincial budget and there is no contribution by the federal government to it”, PM Shehbaz clarified while addressing the federal cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
“Punjab government allocated Rs45 billion for the relief package for electricity consumers using up to 500 units monthly,” the prime minister said and added that the federal government has no contribution to the package.
The prime minister said that other provincial governments should also come forward and announce relief for the people just like the Punjab government. He said provincial governments are being provided funds through the National Finance Commission (NFC) for development projects.
PM Shehbaz said that sufficient resources are available with the provincial governments for development works. PM Shehbaz asked those who are criticising the Punjab government’s package not to ‘politicise’ relief efforts.
He said that the federal government in consultation with provincial governments is working on a comprehensive plan for reforms in different sectors of the economy. He said that the power sector, agriculture, digitalization of FBR, commerce and trade are the key focuses of the plan.
The prime minister said the federal government is doing its part to provide relief to people across the country. He mentioned the Rs 50 billion subsidy package in electricity prices to consumers across the country, using up to 200 units of electricity for three months from July to September. He said this relief package covered about 86 percent of electricity consumers across the country.
Skills development initiative for enhanced training
On the other hand, the Federal Cabinet on Tuesday approved the establishment of the “Prime Minister’s Skills Development Company” to generate and manage funds for technical and vocational training and to implement various training programs.
The Federal Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, approved the establishment of the company under the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission, as per Section 42 of the Companies Act, 2017. This decision followed a recommendation from the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training.
In accordance with the prime minister’s directive, the company was established to delineate the operational and regulatory responsibilities of the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission.
After this, the Prime Minister’s Skill Development Company will look after the operational issues of technical and vocational training while the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission will look after the regulatory issues.
The federal cabinet authorized the transfer of operations for the King Hamad University of Nursing and Associated Medical Sciences to the National University of Medical Sciences. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed between the Ministry of National Health Services and the Ministry of Defense to formalize this agreement.
The Federal Cabinet ratified the decisions from the Cabinet Committee on Government-Owned Institutions meeting held on August 12, 2024. Additionally, the Cabinet has endorsed the decisions from the Economic Coordination Committee meeting on August 15, 2024.
The Cabinet was updated on the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in the Mubarak Sani case. It was informed that, following the prime minister’s directive, an additional petition related to the Mubarak Sani case was filed with the Supreme Court of Pakistan on August 17, 2024.
The Federal Cabinet also approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Investment, Industry, and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Commerce of Pakistan. This MoU, aimed at promoting cooperation in the field of electronic commerce (e-commerce), was endorsed based on the recommendation of the Ministry of Commerce.
