PM orders swift action on renewable energy and economic reforms

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has issued a directive for the Ministry of Energy to develop a comprehensive plan within one month for establishing renewable energy plants by public sector oil companies.

This initiative is part of a broader set of actions communicated by Syed Shakil Shah, Additional Secretary-II of the PMO, following the directives outlined in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s inaugural address to the National Assembly.

In a notable push towards fiscal and social reforms, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has been instructed to process all verified refund claims within a 10-day period.

This action follows the clearance of a significant number of claims subsequent to the Prime Minister’s address.

The PMO has also set ambitious targets for the IT sector, with the Secretary of Information Technology and Telecommunication tasked with creating a plan to train 500,000 youths in IT and enhance IT exports within just seven days.

The Finance Ministry and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have been given a 10-day deadline to formulate and present a strategy to increase lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Agricultural support has also been addressed, with the Ministry of National Food Security and Research and provincial governments being allotted one month to ensure the distribution of high-quality seeds to farmers at no cost and the provision of solar tube-wells.

Additionally, a comprehensive mechanism for direct fertilizer subsidy to farmers is to be prepared by the Ministry of Industries and Production and provincial governments within 30 days.

Secretaries of all concerned ministries have been informed that the Prime Minister may review the implementation status of these directives at short notice.

They have also been instructed to prepare detailed briefings on critical issues within their domains for the Prime Minister, utilizing a concise format of a five-slide PowerPoint presentation.

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