The returnees would be eligible to such loan upon submission of a business proposal with credential of their skills, experience and knowledge in the concerned fields.

 

The business loan for returnee migrants is one of many schemes aimed at promoting entrepreneurship inside the country in the fiscal budget 2018/19 unveiled on Tuesday.  The government has allocated Rs 3.10 billion budget for the labor sector. 

 

The business loan for the returnee migrants was the highlights of schemes introduced to promote small business and reintegrate the returnee migrants in society. 

 

Another notable announcement includes Rs 700,000 business loan to degree holders without jobs. Interest on such loan will be five percent per annum. Such loans could be acquired through bank by putting educational certificate as collateral. 

 

Though this budget has improved some aspects of the scheme including the loan amount, the business loan for the returnee migrants and degree holders are continuation of a similar scheme introduced in the past. The business loan to students in fact had failed to attract students due to red tape and banks’ unwillingness to comply with the government provision. 

 

Though the loan for returnee migrants have been described as a much needed measure for reintegration of migrants and for slowing down the vicious cycle of migration, experts say that it will only benefit the skilled workers who constitute around five percent of around 2.5 million migrant population. Around 500,000 migrants leave the country for overseas job each year. 

 

The fiscal budget 2018/19 unveiled on Tuesday among other things has announced to revise the minimum wage, impart job-oriented training for jobless youths for promotion of local business and creation of new jobs. 

 

Even as the promotion of the local business was the focus of the budget, the government has also announced to give continuity to various past programs and policies targeted at the migrant population. The government has announced to expand overseas employment-related service to each federal province and give continuity to pre-departure training for the outbound migrants.