ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday announced an allocation of Rs100 billion for start-up loans and 170,000 skilled education scholarships to overcome the challenge of unemployment.

The Prime Minister said the government is focused on promoting contemporary skills through scholarships and courses in a bid to help the youth become self-reliant in earning and businesses.

He pointed out that of the 170,000 scholarships; around 50,000 would be reserved for high-end skills such as latest technology, including Artificial Intelligence and Big Data.

Such six-month scholarship courses will become part of the technology revolution the country is heading to, he said, adding that this will not only benefit the youth but also the country as a whole. 

The Prime Minister asked the youth to take full advantage of the Skills Education and Kamyab Jawan Programs (KJP) launched by the present government for creation of job opportunities in the country.

Imran Khan said this will enable the youth to get excellent job opportunities as the world is heading towards revolution in the technology.

He said the skill education program also envisages training in several other fields as well.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the present government has made record allocation of one hundred billion rupees under the Kamyab Jawan Program to enable the youth start their own businesses. 

He said any youth who has a business idea can avail loan facility under the Kamyab Jawan Program. 

He said this program will be further expanded in order to reach out to more youth.

He also said the youth mainly want jobs in the public sector but actually it is the private sector or the Small and medium enterprises where they can get job opportunities in good numbers.

He pointed that the youth needed to divert their energies on learning skills to become self-reliant rather than desiring the government jobs.

Imran Khan said the government could not afford more public jobs as already the pension bill was adding to the financial burden and hope that youth would fully benefit from the two projects announced by the government and tap the immense opportunities in diverse fields.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan yesterday directed Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed to visit Sindh and work out a strategy in coordination with the law enforcement agencies to deal administrative mismanagement, especially law and order and rising crime in the province.

Taking notice of the grave concerns of Sindh Governor Imran Ismael and Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umer on rising crime rate in Sindh, the prime minister also directed the interior minister to submit a report in that regard.

Meanwhile, Chief Ministers of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Imran Khan here and apprised him about overall situation and development affairs of respective areas. 

Separately, Minister for Science and Technology Senator Syed Shibli Faraz also met with Prime Minister and apprised him about the Electronic Voting Machine. Besides that, Shibli Faraz also informed the Prime Minister about different projects initiated by his ministry.

Shibli Faraz congratulated the Prime Minister Imran Khan on the economic improvement and steps taken for the maintaining stability in the country.

Special Representative on Religious Harmony Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi also called on Prime Minister Imran Khan and paid tribute to the Prime Minister on his stance on the Palestine issue and the efforts at the government level to resolve the issue.