Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has approved the country’s first-ever five-year gemstone policy, signalling a major push to formalise and develop the sector’s largely untapped export potential, Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday.  

The ECC meeting, chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, also gave in-principle approval for the restructuring of the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC), under which 30 per cent of the corporation’s shares will be transferred to the National Logistics Cell (NLC) along with management control.

The committee approved a technical supplementary grant of Rs3.91 billion for the Prime Minister’s Youth Skills Development Programme, Rs160 million for the Prime Minister’s Office, Rs480 million for the hospital of Frontier Constabulary North, and Rs1.5 billion for the Prime Minister’s National Health Programme.

In a relief measure for displaced persons, the ECC raised the monthly subsistence allowance for Jammu and Kashmir refugees of 1989 from Rs3,500 to Rs6,000, effective February 1, allocating Rs580 million to cover payments through June 30.

The meeting further approved Rs1 billion for outstanding pension liabilities of railway employees and a technical supplementary grant of Rs1 billion for the establishment of the National Agri Trade and Food Safety Authority.