Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has raised the maximum loan available to young Pakistanis under the government’s youth schemes to Rs25 million, more than tripling the previous ceiling of Rs7.5 million. The PM youth loan limit Rs25 million figure was announced on Sunday, 8 November, at a high-level review meeting in Islamabad, alongside two other major changes: the minimum age to apply falls from 21 to 18, and 30 per cent of all loans will now be reserved for women.
The prime minister also announced Rs292 billion in funding for the schemes during the current financial year, 2026-27, and directed officials to run a nationwide awareness campaign so that young people in remote areas can benefit too. The decisions cover both the Prime Minister’s Youth Business Loan Scheme and the Prime Minister’s Youth Agriculture Loan Scheme, which finance new and existing businesses as well as farming. Our earlier PM youth business loan scheme guide explains the old limits the new announcement replaces.
What has changed: bigger loans, younger applicants, more for women
The headline change is the higher ceiling. Under the new PM youth loan limit Rs25 million is the most a young applicant can now borrow, up from Rs7.5 million, and the loans will be provided in easy instalments so borrowers can launch large-scale commercial and agricultural projects. The prime minister said the package was designed to help young people stand on their own feet, calling them Pakistan’s most valuable asset and promising dignified employment opportunities.
The age change matters just as much. Until now, applicants generally had to be at least 21, with the lower age of 18 available only for IT and e-commerce businesses when the schemes launched in 2023. From now on, any young Pakistani aged 18 or above can apply, which opens the door to school and college leavers who want to start a business alongside or immediately after their education.
Women get a bigger guaranteed share as well. Thirty per cent of loans under the programmes will be reserved for women, up from the 25 per cent quota set at launch, in a push for their economic independence and wider participation in business and farming. The prime minister particularly praised Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and his team for making the financial arrangements behind the package.
Who can apply and how to apply
Loans are offered in four tiers under the official scheme advertisement, with the markup rising with the amount borrowed. Loans of up to Rs5 lakh carry no markup at all, loans from Rs5 lakh to Rs15 lakh are charged 5 per cent, loans from Rs15 lakh to Rs75 lakh are charged 7 per cent, and the top tier — up to Rs2.5 crore — is charged 8 per cent. Young people seeking work abroad can also apply for an interest-free loan of up to Rs10 lakh.
Applications are made online only, through the Prime Minister’s Digital Youth Hub at pmyp.gov.pk. The official advertisement sets no closing date, because this is an ongoing programme for the 2026-27 financial year, so eligible applicants are advised to apply as early as possible. Applications should only ever be made through the official portal: no agent, middleman or office can approve a loan, and no fee is charged for applying.
Money is only part of the offer. The prime minister directed the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) to give young applicants business consultancy, market guidance and technical assistance alongside the finance, so that first-time founders are not left to work out the practical side of starting a business alone. A nationwide awareness campaign about the schemes and the opportunities available has also been ordered.
How the scheme has performed so far
The briefing at Sunday’s meeting put the scale of the programme in numbers. Since January 2023, a total of 581,341 young people have received loans under the schemes, and Rs313.9 billion has been disbursed — ten times more progress than in the previous ten years, according to the briefing. For the 2026-27 financial year, the government expects about 266,700 more young people to receive loans worth Rs292 billion in total.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, the prime minister’s Special Assistant on Youth Affairs Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan and his Special Assistant on Political Affairs Talha Burki attended the meeting and briefed the prime minister on progress. The agriculture side of the scheme is a large part of the story: the Youth Agriculture Loan Scheme is meant to draw more young people into farming, alongside the business loans for shops, services and small enterprises.
For young Pakistanis weighing a first business or a farm investment, the message from Sunday’s announcement is straightforward: the ceiling is now Rs25 million, the door opens at 18, and women applicants have a guaranteed 30 per cent share. The next steps to watch are the SMEDA guidance rollout and the awareness campaign reaching smaller towns and villages. More detail on the wider youth package is in our PM Youth Programme 2026 overview.
Sources: Pakistan Point; Khabr.pk. Loan tiers and the application portal are taken from the official scheme advertisement issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
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