In order to promote the development of small and medium enterprises, Prime Minister Imran Khan has approved the constitution of the National Coordination Committee on Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Development.
The constitution of NCC on SME Development is aimed at coordinating and facilitating the development and promotion of SMEs in the country. This NCC will also recommend policy, legal and regulatory measures to generate and sustain economic activity, employment generation, and poverty alleviation.
According to details, Minister for Industries & Production will convene and chair the NCC while its members include secretaries of:
- Industry & Production
- Commerce
- Finance
- Power
- Petroleum
- Law Divisions
- All provincial chief secretaries or their representative not below the level of provincial secretary
- FBR chairman
- SECP chairman
- CEO Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA)
- CEO Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP)
- Deputy Governor State Bank of Pakistan
- One representative of the SME sector from each from all provinces and key sectors
The committee has been initially tasked to review and finalize draft SME policy within two weeks if deemed necessary for the purpose of this task.
NCC will focus on defining the scope of SMEs, fiscal and monetary incentives required for SME growth. It will suggest measures to address market access and capacity issues. It will also identify issues faced by SMEs in acquiring credits and measures to solve them.
It will propose legislative and regulatory amendments to enhance ease-of-doing-business and encourage documentation for the SME sector. Additionally, it will suggest regulatory guidelines to reduce the burden on SMEs.
It will also come up with deliverables and targets for implementation of approved measures and assign responsibilities with timelines and will hold regular weekly meetings to review the progress on the deliverables.
The NCC will also act as a focal point for inter-provincial, inter-ministerial, inter-departmental and inter-agency coordination to resolve implementation issues with respect to SME sector development, which will ensure coherent and synchronized implementation of SME growth measures.
The convener shall brief the Prime Minister once a week on impediments, recommendations for improvement, and overall progress on implementation of the Prime Minister’s policy guidelines.
