5 min read
Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, today chaired three back-to-back meetings to review the progress of work on major government initiatives scheduled for launch in the coming weeks, with a focus on ensuring their timely roll-out in line with the vision and direction of the Prime Minister.
The initiatives, each designed to generate measurable social impact and advance national development objectives, are being implemented in close coordination with relevant ministries, regulatory bodies, financial institutions, and technical partners.
The first meeting reviewed the Pakistan Skills Impact Bond, the country’s first outcomes-based, impact-linked financing instrument to be raised domestically. Developed under the Social Impact Financing Framework created by a Ministry of Finance-led committee constituted by the Prime Minister, and under the leadership of the Finance Minister, this instrument will serve as the first in a broader programme to mobilize funding from both domestic and international private and philanthropic capital. All social impact financing will be tied to one or more of the six priority pillars outlined in the Framework and linked to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Finance Minister observed that the Pakistan Skills Impact Bond must be positioned as a “trailblazer” that not only meets immediate development needs but also sets a precedent for attracting a more diverse and deeper investor base. He stressed that this was an opportunity to demonstrate that Pakistan could lead in innovative financing approaches, capable of attracting outcomes funders from around the globe.
The second meeting focused on the National Subsistence Farmers Support Scheme (NSFSS), a flagship component of the ECC-approved Access to Finance framework for farmers. Inspired by the Prime Minister and driven by the Ministry of Finance-led task force under the direction of the Finance Minister, the NSFSS will unlock digitally enabled, uncollateralized bank loans for smallholder farmers: those owning or cultivating up to 12.5 acres of land, including tenant farmers. By leveraging agronomy-related satellite data through the Land Information and Management System (LIMS), banks will integrate this data into their credit scoring models, enabling the provision of loans for agricultural inputs at reasonable mark-up rates, in contrast to the high costs associated with informal lending from middlemen. The State Bank of Pakistan is collaborating with banks and the Pakistan Banks’ Association to operationalize the scheme via a centralized portal developed and managed by the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), ensuring an end-to-end digital customer journey.
The Finance Minister noted that this would be “the first time space technology will be driving agricultural credit decisions on a national scale” and that the initiative represented “a breakthrough moment” for rural financing in Pakistan. He also pointed out that with 97% of farmers owning less than 12.5 acres as per the latest 7th Agriculture Census, the scheme was directly targeted at the segment most in need of affordable credit, and it would have a transformative impact on rural livelihoods, agricultural productivity, and financial inclusion.
The third meeting reviewed progress on the Prime Minister’s Fan Replacement Programme, an energy efficiency initiative co-developed by the Power Division’s National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (NEECA) in collaboration with banks. The programme will enable consumers to replace existing ceiling fans with energy-efficient models at affordable financing rates, with the Ministry of Finance providing a nominal first-loss guarantee to incentivize bank participation. An online portal, also developed by PITB, will facilitate a fully digital process: from customer onboarding to loan application, fan selection from approved local manufacturers, and loan disbursement and repayment. Multiple domestic manufacturers of energy-efficient fans have been onboarded and will expand production capacity to meet anticipated demand, contributing to job creation and SME growth.
The Finance Minister emphasised that this initiative was “about more than just replacing fans. It is about embedding energy efficiency into household choices, reducing the national energy footprint, and opening new lending opportunities for SMEs.” He underscored that linking such projects to SDGs and exploring additional sources of financing would amplify their social and economic impact while helping create sustainable local manufacturing capacity.
The Finance Minister placed particular emphasis on the early roll-out of all three initiatives and urged the concerned ministries, departments, and partner organizations to step up their efforts to take these projects to the finishing line within the next few weeks. He stressed that the leadership expected these initiatives to be ready for launch without delay, as their timely implementation would send a strong signal of government efficiency, responsiveness, and commitment to delivering results that directly improve people’s lives.
Concluding the series of meetings, the Finance Minister underscored the need for speed, coordination, and precision in the roll-out of these initiatives. He observed that each project carried the potential to serve as a model for scale-up, both in Pakistan and internationally, and that delivering them effectively would “signal that Pakistan is ready to innovate, ready to partner, and ready to deliver results that matter for its people.”
