Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday announced a package under which small and medium enterprises, as well as the industrial sector in general, will be able to benefit from reduced energy costs. The prime minister said that starting November 1, the additional electricity used by SMEs up to June 30, 2021, will be sold at 50% lower cost. Addressing the nation after a meeting of the federal cabinet, the prime minister said that the cost of electricity in the country was expensive in Pakistan as the previous contracts signed for power generation were expensive and “had a negative effect” for the country. He added that the government, soon after assuming charge, tried to increase exports as “wealth generation is directly related to exports”. “Pakistan is the only country in the subcontinent, after Covid-19, that has progressed rapidly and at the same time, we have been largely spared the adverse effects of this pandemic.”