While Pakistan’s Utility Stores Corporation (USC) was shut down in 2025 with a Rs 30.2 billion closure package after years of subsidy dependence, Punjab moved in the opposite direction by converting the Punjab Model Bazaars Management Company into the Punjab Sahulat Bazaars Authority (PSBA).
The conversion, passed by the Punjab Assembly in March 2025, was based on performance rather than politics. By 2024, the company was selling essentials such as flour below both market and government-notified rates — without subsidies. It had launched Pakistan’s first province-wide digital welfare delivery app, completing 85,000 free home deliveries, and expanded bazaars with Rs 3.44 billion in provincial funding.
Unlike USC’s bailouts, PSBA was allocated Rs 10 billion in the 2025–26 budget as a growth investment. Independent audits rated its governance and financial sustainability above 80%, while the FBR granted NPO recognition.
The Authority also piloted solarisation that cut utility bills by 90%, generated procurement savings of Rs 130 million, and supported 60,000 families through an inclusive vendor system. Officials call the move a milestone, contrasting USC’s collapse with PSBA’s self-reliant growth.
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