ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday formed a 14-member National Coordination Committee to promote overall development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector.

The Prime Minister directed to review and finalise the draft SME policy within two weeks, according to an official document released by the Prime Minister’s Office.

According to details, Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar will chair the Committee.

The Committee will recommend policy, legal and regulatory measures with a view to generate and sustain economic activity, employment generation and poverty alleviation.

It will suggest measures to address market access and capacity issues for SMEs.

The committee will also propose legislative and regulatory amendments to enhance ease of doing business for SMEs. 

The convener of the committee will brief the Prime Minister on weekly basis on overall progress on implementation of Prime Minister’s policy guidelines.

The committee chairman can opt to appoint any person from the public and private sectors, if deemed necessary.

The committee will focus on fiscal and monetary incentives for the SMEs growth and suggest measures to address market address.

It will propose legislative and regulatory amendments to enhance case of doing business for the SMEs and encourage documentation for the sector.

The committee will suggest guidelines to reduce regulatory burden on the SMEs and come up with deliverables and targets for implementation of approved measures besides assigning responsibilities with timelines.

It will hold regular weekly meetings to review progress and act as a focal point for inter-provincial, inter-ministerial, inter-departmental and inter-agency coordination for implementation.

The committee will develop a mechanism to ensure coherent and synchronized implementation of SMEs growth measures.

Other members of the committee include secretaries of Ministry of Industries, Commerce Division, Finance Division, Power Division, Petroleum Division, and Law and Justice Ministry, all chief secretaries, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan chairman, chief executive officers of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA), and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), State Bank of Pakistan deputy governor and one representative of the SMEs sector from each province.