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First draw held

Rs 1,500 prize bonds

fetch Rs 71.3 bn in 4 months

RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: The first draw of Rs 1,500 prize bonds, in A to L series, was held here on Tuesday in which 11 numbers were announced which had won Rs 2 million each. Provincial Industries Minister Dewan Mohammed Yusuf Farooqui inaugurating the balloting.

During the past four months prize bonds of Rs 1,500 denomination in A to L series were sold which fetched Rs 71.30 billion to the national exchequer.

The minister in his short speech said the prize bonds scheme has provided incentives for savings and an alternative source of generation of funds for the government.

He appreciated the extensive use of computers in the National Savings Department and said that all those NS offices which have no computers must be computerised.

NS Director-General Ahmed Owais Pirzada said during the next financial year all the regional offices of the NS would be linked with a centralised computer network which would be followed by linking branch offices with the respective regional offices.

He said the directorate is working on proposal to make investment more easy to encourage more people to invest in different saving schemes.

He said during 1998-99 investment in different saving schemes was Rs 186 billion, including Rs 88 billion government investment. But, last year government investment was only Rs 44 billion.

He said the lowering of interest rate did not affect investment in National Saving Schemes.

Pirzada said in view of the difficulties being faced by employees of the NS, recommendations have been forwarded to the Pay Committee and a favourable decision is expected.

Present at the draw were President Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry Amjad Rafi, Vice-President of the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Maqsood Ismail, President Karachi Press Club Ali Iqbal, Vice Chairman of the Karachi Stock Exchange Salim Chamdia, former federal secretary finance Aftab Ahmed Khan, Executive Director State Bank of Pakistan Farhat Saeed, Chief Manager SBP Liaquat Durrani, and Director National Savings Muzaffar Ahmed Ghouri.