Asaan Karobar Card and Asaan Karobar Finance: limits, eligibility and how to apply

The CM Punjab Asaan Karobar Card is an interest-free loan of up to Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million) on a digital card, for anyone aged 21 to 57 with an existing or planned business in Punjab. You repay it in 33 monthly instalments after a 3-month grace period, and pay a Rs 500 processing fee plus an annual card fee. The loan is made through the Bank of Punjab. Terms are from the Punjab Small Industries Corporation (PSIC), as of October 2026.

What does the Asaan Karobar Card give you?

The 0% is not free money for the government. Punjab pays the Bank of Punjab 6-month KIBOR plus 2.40% a year on your behalf. PSIC says the scheme aims to support 100,000+ small businesses with Rs 48 billion of loans, on a subsidy budget of Rs 8.5 billion.

Who is eligible for the Asaan Karobar Card?

PSIC sets these conditions:

• age 21 to 57
• a Pakistani national living in Punjab, as shown on your CNIC
• an existing or planned business located in Punjab
• a valid CNIC matching NADRA’s record
• a mobile number registered in your own name

PSIC’s card page doesn’t ask for an NTN (National Tax Number) or a minimum income. Asaan Karobar Finance does need an NTN (see below).

Can you withdraw cash from the Asaan Karobar Card?

Only part of it. PSIC says spending goes through digital channels, the mobile app and card machines (POS), and limits cash so the loan isn’t diverted from the business. Dunya News reported at the January 2025 launch that up to 25% of the loan can be withdrawn as cash. The rest pays suppliers for raw material, government fees, taxes and utility bills.

Blogs describe more rules, such as cash only after six months or half the limit released first. We couldn’t find these on an official page, so ask the Bank of Punjab.

How do you apply for the Asaan Karobar Card?

Applications opened online on the launch day in January 2025, with the helpline 1786 for questions (The News). Because we couldn’t open the portal, the steps below come from PSIC’s scheme terms and news reports, not from the portal itself.

Asaan Karobar Card or Asaan Karobar Finance?

Asaan Karobar Finance is the larger loan in the same Punjab programme, also lent through the Bank of Punjab at 0% markup for you.

Finance pays for a new business, machinery (BMR), expansion, working capital, cleaner production technology or leasing commercial vehicles. You need a clean record in your ECIB credit report. For working capital, expansion and BMR loans, the premises must be owned or rented in your or the business’s name.

Phase 2 of Asaan Karobar Finance offers Rs 30 million to Rs 50 million through four special schemes, Punjab’s industries minister, Chaudhry Shafay Hussain, said on 3 Jan 2026 (APP). PSIC’s page still shows only the phase 1 tiers.

How many people have got the loans?

• February 2025: 185,000 applications for the card and 71,000 for Finance (APP).
• April 2025: more than 80,000 applications approved and loans to 34,000 entrepreneurs. The Chief Minister ordered the procedure simplified (The Nation).
• January 2026: Rs 70 billion of interest-free loans to 108,371 businesses across both schemes in about six months (APP).

Is the Asaan Karobar Card a good deal?

On cost, yes: you pay no markup. The real cost is the fees: Rs 500 to apply plus the annual card fee PSIC prints as Rs 25,000 plus FED. On a Rs 1 million card used for three years, that fee is the main charge, so confirm it before you sign.

Outside Punjab, or if you’re 45 or younger, compare the federal PM Youth loan scheme, which lends up to Rs 7.5 million at 0% to 7%. For smaller amounts, see the interest-free Akhuwat loan. Our business loan comparison puts all of them next to bank SME loans.

More guides: Loans · Business loans compared · Akhuwat loan · PM Youth loan · Kissan Card Punjab · Business bank accounts