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Tag: Prime Minister Imran Khan

  • Pakistan abolishes visa fee for Afghans

    Pakistan abolishes visa fee for Afghans

    ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet in a meeting on Tuesday has approved the abolition of visa fees for Pakistani visas for Afghans coming into Pakistan.

    Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired the meeting of the federal cabinet.

    The cabinet approved the inclusion of Afghan businessmen in the list of Pakistan Business Visas for their convenience.

    It also approved in principle a code of conduct for issuing Pakistani visas to Afghans. The regulation will issue all visas online and will minimize the duration of the administrative process for obtaining a visa.

    At the beginning of the meeting, the Cabinet offered Fateha for late Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan. The Cabinet was briefed on the progress regarding introduction of electronic voting machines (EVM) and empowerment of Overseas Pakistanis to vote.

    The cabinet directed to celebrate Eid Milad-un-Nabi in a grand manner. The federal cabinet decided to have a look at the comparative prices of essential commodities in all its meetings.

    The meeting approved the renewal of Charter License Class-II (Domestic) of M/s K2 AIRWAYS (Pvt.) Ltd. The Cabinet approved the issuance of Charter Licence Class-II (Domestic & International) for M/s AIR SIAL Ltd.

    The Establishment Division briefed the Cabinet on the vacancies of CEOs and Managing Directors in various Ministries and state owned companies under their supervision. The Cabinet was informed that at present a total of 80 posts are vacant. Out of which 44 posts will be filled by following the due process, whereas posts in 18 institutions are being abolished. The Cabinet directed that the procedure of appointments should be completely transparent and merit-based.

    The federal cabinet approved the reconstitution of PEMRA Council of Complaints Islamabad and approved the appointment of Syed Muhammad Ali Bukhari as its Chairman. The council will consist of 6 members, including three women members.

    The Cabinet approved the establishment of a special riot police force to protect the lives and property of citizens of the federal capital Islamabad and to maintain law and order.

    This decision has been taken keeping in view the increase in urban population of Islamabad, the sensitivity of the federal capital and the needs of police. The force will be equipped with the latest technology and equipment to help prevent crime. Force personnel will be trained according scientific standards.

    The Cabinet approved the provision of Pakistan Online Visa facility for foreigners working on CPEC projects.

    The Cabinet approved the criteria and regulations for admission on merit in government medical and dental colleges run by the federal government. Following this decision, 50 per cent marks will be given to the marks obtained in the entrance test and the remaining 50 per cent marks will be given to the marks obtained in the intermediate examinations.

    The decisions taken at the meeting of the Economic Co-ordination Committee of the Cabinet on October 7, 2021 were partially ratified.

    The Cabinet postponed the agenda of the decisions taken at the meeting of the Committee on Transport and Logistics on October 4, 2021. The Cabinet set up a sub-committee comprising Minister of Energy and Minister of Maritime Affairs to review the matter and re-submit it to the Cabinet.

    The Cabinet approved the procedure for online verification of Power of Attorney documents for the convenience of overseas Pakistanis. The move will enable Pakistanis abroad to quickly verify legal documents, previously, it involved a lengthy waiting time.

    The Cabinet approved the establishment of a Real Estate Regulatory Authority to regulate the sale and purchase of land under the Islamabad Real Estate (Regulations and Development) Act, 2020.

    The Cabinet approved the establishment of Rehmat-ul-Ulameen Authority. The authority will include world-renowned Muslim scholars. The authority will conduct research on various aspects of Prophet’s life. The authority will propose a curriculum for the training of children in the light of teachings of Seerat-un-Nabi. The authority will also take steps to highlight true identity of Islam in the world. The authority will work to prevent the rise of sexual crimes, and will ensure tolerance in society.

    The Cabinet appreciated and commended the Prime Minister’s initiative and reiterated the great commitment of all members of the Cabinet to participate in the promotion of this great cause.

    OMCs must have 21 days stock of POL products, federal cabinet decides
  • PM directs incentives to attract more Chinese investment

    PM directs incentives to attract more Chinese investment

    ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday directed authorities to intensify efforts to attract more investment from China, underscoring the importance of industrialization and economic growth for Pakistan’s future.

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  • Pandora papers: PM says returning taxpayers’ money

    Pandora papers: PM says returning taxpayers’ money

    ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said that taxpayers’ money should be returned to Pakistan from those whose names were revealed by the Pandora papers.

    The prime minister has chaired a meeting of the federal cabinet.

    The cabinet was informed that initially, the Prime Minister’s Inspection Commission will meticulously review the record of all those Pakistanis which are named in Pandora Revelations and decide about legal proceedings according to the outcome of such investigations. “The taxpayers’ money should return to Pakistan,” the Prime Minister remarked.

    The meeting was briefed on the introduction of electronic voting machines and giving voting rights to Overseas Pakistanis.

     In this lieu the process of taking opposition on board is underway. Emphasizing the importance of EVMs the Prime Minister said that for the country’s greater good, the government wants to bring transparency in election process.

    Effective awareness campaign should be launched to highlight the usefulness of electronic voting machines, he added.

    SAPM for National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan gave a detailed briefing to the Cabinet on admission test in medical colleges. The meeting was told that the admission test is conducted to produce professionally competent doctors and dentists. High standards of medical education are necessary as doctors have to save human lives.

    In this regard, a uniform entrance test at par with prevalent international best practices is set up which is marked with the help of modern technology. The purpose of the entrance test is to test the actual intelligence and not to merely pass the exam on the basis of the rote learning. Each student’s exam is different from the other so that the chances of copying are eliminated.

    About 200,000 students take the medical admission test every year for 20 thousand seats. Due to lack of resources, it is not possible to arrange computers or laptops for 200000 students at the same time during admission tests. The pool of questions for the exam is made in accordance with the syllabus in which different questions are included in the questionnaire.

    The Supreme Court has directed that medical entrance tests be conducted uniformly across the country. The cabinet agreed that Effective and transparent admission test system is of great importance and is necessary as these individuals, later on, have to save human lives by becoming doctors.

    The cabinet allowed the MetLife-Alico company to move abroad its capital (received in lieu of its sale proceeding) in accordance with Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan’s regulations.

    The Cabinet approved a reduction in the punishment of prisoners on the auspicious occasion of Eid Milad-ul-Nabi. The Cabinet directed that Eid Milad-ul-Nabi (PBUH) be celebrated on a grand scale. Moreover, it was decided that the ten days from 3rd Rabi ul Awwal to 13th Rabi ul Awwal will be dedicated to Rehmat al Alameen (PBUH).

    The Cabinet approved the appointment of experts in committee on drug research under Drug (Research) Rules, 1978. These experts posted hail from Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. These experts will help in research on medicines in Pakistan.

    The Cabinet allowed the promotion of important and life saving drugs in light of the recommendations of the Drug Regulatory Authority.

    In order to provide winter relief for domestic consumers and keeping in view the paucity of Natural gas, the Cabinet approved usage of electricity instead of gas on the recommendation of the Cabinet Committee on Energy. In addition to the above, the domestic electricity customers will also have the facility that if they use more units this winter than the previous year, they will be charged additional units at a lower price.

    The decisions taken by the Economic Coordination Committee in the meeting held on 30 september 2021 were also ratified. The decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee on Legislation in the Meeting of 30 September 2021 were also ratified.

    The Cabinet directed all ministries to use E-Procurements System. All the tenders should be run in a completely transparent manner and the procurement process should eliminate corruption. The Cabinet directed to form a three members committee that will make a comprehensive assessment of electricity and construction contracts entered by the previous governments, especially road construction contracts and will present the report to the cabinet. The committee will comprise Federal Ministers Fawad Ahmed Chauhdary and Hammad Azhar.

    The Cabinet approved submission of the recommended Code of Conduct by Census Advisory Committee to the Council of Common Interests for the Seventh Census.

    The Census Rules contain the following recommendations:

     -The census will be conducted in accordance with the Constitution and law.

     -Adherence to the principles laid by United Nations for Census.

    -Setting up of a census-specific unit and master plan.

    -Updation of maps.

    -Taking on board all Stake Holders.

    -Questionnaire for census

    – Conducting Pilot exercise for Census

    – Census Awareness Campaign

    -Training of Personnel

    -Code for Data Collection

    – Monitoring of Field Teams

    -Security arrangements for field teams

    – An after census Survey for verification

    -Establishment of National Census Liaison Centre

    Keeping in view the security reasons, the Cabinet approved the appointment of Security personnel for by-elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

    The Cabinet approved the allotment of land in Islamabad for the construction of purpose-built buildings for Panahgahs.

    Some obstacles challenging construction sector: PM
  • PM directs relinquishment of occupied state land

    PM directs relinquishment of occupied state land

    ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday directed to ensure strict enforcement of law for relinquishment of occupied state land.

    The Prime Minister chaired the meeting of the National Coordination Committee on Housing and Construction at Islamabad.

    The Prime Minister directed that strict enforcement of law should be ensured for the relinquishment of occupied state land.

    Emphasizing the importance of cadastral mapping the Prime Minister said that it will help the government to identify dead capital and its better utilization.

    The prime minister said that the government is ensuring the protection of forest lands for the conservation of the environment. He added that food security and climate change are currently the most important issues concerning the whole world, including Pakistan.

    The meeting was attended by MOS for Information Farrukh Habib, SAPM Dr Shehbaz Gill, Member National Assembly Aftab Siddiqui, Chairman CDA Amir Ahmed Ali, Chairman Naya Pakistan Housing Authority Lt. General (Retd) General Anwar Ali Haider, Surveyor-General Of Pakistan Major General Shahid Pervez and concerned officials. Concerned officials from all four provinces also attended the meeting via video link.

    The meeting was briefed in detail about development work in Islamabad. Sector I-15 has been completed with unprecedented pace, whereas the development of Ali Pur Farash Town project under Naya Pakistan Housing Authority will also be completed soon.

    The meeting was also briefed about the progress on infrastructure development projects in Islamabad. Construction of Park Enclave (Phase I, II & III), Rawal Chowk Flyover, Korang Bridge, Margalla Highway, 7th Avenue Interchange and IJP Road is going on at a steady pace and these projects are expected to be completed within defined timelines.

    Moreover, the meeting was informed that the building of 150 beds Capital Hospital is complete and its equipment is in the process of procurement. Chairman CDA also briefed on the digital mapping of forest areas of Islamabad. It is not only complete, but it has also helped in the identification of encroached land. Prime Minister directed that strict action must be taken against Land Mafias involved in encroachment of forest land, natural waterways and state-owned property.

    Later on, the Surveyor-General of Pakistan briefed the meeting on Cadastral Mapping of Islamabad Capital Territory, Lahore and digitization of state-owned land in Pakistan.

    Regarding Islamabad, the meeting was informed that the process is near to completion and the collected data has also been uploaded to web application whereby the title holders will also be given a distinct login ID. The login ID provided to the title holders will help access to all the details of the property hence bringing transparency in the system.

    The ground survey, Property Tax record and census data are being utilized in Lahore to accurately map the city. Moreover Borad Of Revenue Data in Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is being digitalized at a steady pace.

    Forest Demarcation exercise in the country is 97 per cent complete and digitization of state-owned land is also expected to be completed in an upcoming couple of months.

    The meeting was also briefed in detail on encroachment on Circular Railway, Nullahs and forest land in Karachi. The meeting was briefed on Site development zones proposed for better utilization of land and provision of basic amenities to housing societies.

    Some obstacles challenging construction sector: PM
  • PM requested for return filing date extension

    PM requested for return filing date extension

    KARACHI: Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA) on Tuesday apprised Prime Minister Imran Khan about difficulties in the return filing and requested for date extension up to December 31, 2021.

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  • PM praises investment of Toyota Motors

    PM praises investment of Toyota Motors

    ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday praised Toyota Motors for investing $100 million for locally production of hybrid electric vehicles.

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  • Some obstacles challenging construction sector: PM

    Some obstacles challenging construction sector: PM

    ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the government has removed many barriers but some more obstacles were challenging the construction sector.

    Prime Minister Imran Khan attends the inaugural ceremony of the three-day ICCI Housing Property, Housing and Construction Expo 2021 on Friday, to continue facilitating the construction industry for creating wealth and boost the country’s exports.

    Minister of State for Information Farrukh Habib, Special Assistant to PM Dr. Shahbaz Gill, Chairman Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority Lt General (Retd) Anwar Ali Haider, President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sardar Yasir Ilyas also attended the event.

    The expo featured the pavilions of the commercial banks, Board of Investment, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), companies, and businesses related to the construction industry, including real estate developers, marketing firms, cement, marble, tiles, electronics, cable, and many others.

    The educational institutes were also present there with aim of promoting the industry-academia linkage.

    The prime minister urged the business sector to ensure the availability of raw materials in the construction industry to reduce the import bill.

    He said introducing the housing finance facility by the government for the low-income group, that the country’s 220 million population would become an asset as the construction of houses would positively impact all allied industries.

    He further said that unfortunately, the previous governments never thought of the poor segment but the government had opened the avenue.

  • PM directs launching portal to facilitate investors

    PM directs launching portal to facilitate investors

    In a bid to facilitate both local and foreign investors, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday instructed relevant authorities to expedite the launch of a one-window portal designed to streamline investor facilitation in Pakistan.

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  • PM launches house financing scheme for NRPs

    PM launches house financing scheme for NRPs

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday said that Prime Minister Imran has launched a new housing scheme to facilitate Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs) in buying houses for themselves and their families.

    The central bank in a statement said that the prime minister praised the efforts and hard work of the SBP and government agencies in crossing another impressive milestone of $2 billion in deposits in Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA) and developing an exclusive product, Roshan Apna Ghar, for Overseas Pakistanis’ investment in housing in Pakistan.

    He said that RDA has provided an excellent platform to overseas Pakistanis to digitally connect to Pakistan’s banking system and meet their financial services needs in Pakistan.

    The prime minister was addressing a gathering of Ministers, Presidents and CEOs of Banks, SBP officials and other distinguished guests at the launch of Roshan Apna Ghar – an initiative of SBP for overseas Pakistanis.

    The Prime Minister expressed optimism that Roshan Apna Ghar would facilitate overseas Pakistanis to buy a house for themselves and / or their families in Pakistan, which has been quite difficult for many of them due to host of manual procedures, mandatory physical visits to Pakistan with long stay to complete the process and the hassle of trips to many offices.

    He said that with the introduction of Roshan Apna Ghar, an end to end digital process right from submission of application to the bank to disbursement of funds by banks, overseas Pakistanis would find it much easier to buy a housing unit in Pakistan for themselves or their loved ones either through their own savings or bank financing.

    In his welcome address, Governor SBP, Dr. Reza Baqir thanked the Prime Minister for his vision and firm resolve to integrate the overseas Pakistani community with the country’s economy.

    Highlighting the performance of Roshan Digital Account, he said that RDA is now a very well established brand, which has so far connected over 215,000 expats with the country’s banking system and attracted over $2,050 million since its launch in September last year. He said it took about 8 months to cross the first major milestone of $1 billion whereas the next 1 billion were received in less than 4 months, which is indicative of the increasing momentum.   

    Introducing the new product, Dr. Baqir said that Roshan Apna Ghar is an initiative of SBP  for Non Resident Pakistanis (NRPs)to buy, build or renovate their homes in Pakistan through own investment or bank financing.

    Complete information on the initiative as well as directions on how to avail it are available at the SBP portal. Overseas Pakistanis will be able to complete their transaction completely remotely and digitally and their investment will be fully repatriable.

    He elaborated that financing is available in both conventional and Shariah compliant variants at attractive rates for a period of three to 25 years.

    Through the Roshan Apna Ghar initiative, overseas Pakistanis will also be able to obtain financing under the Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar scheme of the government as well that has been exclusively designed for those who do not already own a house and offers financing at economical rates starting from 3 percent. 

    Governor Baqir emphasized that SBP, with the support of all stakeholders, will continue to bring as much ease as possible for overseas Pakistanis.

    Speaking at the occasion, the Minister for Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Tarin, said that the innovation of Roshan Digital Account has proved to be a huge success and instrumental in receiving substantial investment of over $1.4 billion in Naya Pakistan Certificates.

    He lauded the introduction of Roshan Apna Ghar by State Bank and said that it is another splendid idea of SBP and will attract substantial investment in the real estate sectorby overseas Pakistanis.

    He went on to add that both NPCs and the Roshan Apna Ghar are here to achieve the greater goal of attracting investments by overseas Pakistanis, which are more sustainable and reliable.

    He said that Ministry of Finance with the help of State Bank will make every effort to introduce new avenues of investments for overseas Pakistanis.

    Under Roshan Apna Ghar, two types of financing facilities are being offered. First, Standard Financing in which both lien based and non-lien based financing is available.

    In lien-based financing, the NRPs can obtain house finance facility against lien on their RDA deposit balances or Naya Pakistan Certificates. Banks can finance up to 100 per cent of the property value for purchase or construction of a house; for renovation of house, financing is capped at 40 per cent of the property value.

    Non-lien based financing is the typical housing finance offered against mortgage of the property to be purchased; banks may fund up to 85% of the property value for purchase or construction of house, and up to 30% of the property value for renovation of house.

    Second, the house financing facility under Mera Paksitan Mera Ghar (Government Mark-up Subsidy Scheme) is also available for RDA holders under Roshan Apna Ghar product as per already defined criteria under respective tiers.

    In this case, the financing rates applicable to the Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar scheme would apply.Insurance of the property, up to the extent of financing amount, is also free.

    State Bank launches house acquisition scheme for NRPs
  • Economy on right track despite COVID challenges: PM

    Economy on right track despite COVID challenges: PM

    ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that his government has put the economy on right track despite various challenges, including COVID-19.

    Presenting three years performance of Pakistan Tehrik e Insaaf (PTI) government, the prime minister said during the last three years, the current account deficit has been significantly reduced from $20 billion in 2018 to $1.8 billion, foreign exchange reserves increased from $16.4 billion to $27 billion, revenue collection from Rs 3800 billion to Rs. 4700 billion, workers’ remittances from $19.9 billion to $ 29.4 billion.

    Imran said that when the present government took reign of affairs in 2018, the country with the highest ever $20 billion of current account deficit was close to default and rupee was depreciating.

    “If the friendly countries including Saudi Arabia, UAE and China did not help Pakistan, rupee in the country would have further depreciated,” he added.

    The Prime Minister also mentioned 18 per cent growth in the Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) sector as well as 42 per cent increase in cement sale during the previous fiscal and said it showed enhanced industrial activity.

    He said that the receipt of an additional income of Rs 1100 billion by the farmers in agriculture sector and the historic sales of motorbikes, cars and tractors during the previous fiscal also depicted prosperity in rural areas.

    The Prime Minister said that the government’s successful strategy to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic also led to saving the economy and poor masses, adding, the international institutions including the World Economic Forum and the World Health Organization appreciated Pakistan’s strategy on COVID-19.

    He said that despite the criticism by opposition parties, the government did not go for complete lockdown of the economy, which, if opted, would have caused increase in poverty and hunger like in India.

    The Prime Minister appreciated the National Command and Operations Center (NCOC) for its timely and effective decisions to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The Prime Minister said his message to the youth was to follow the sublime path, set by Allah Almighty and Last Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). “We have to learn from the life and teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).”

    He said sports did inspire him to never give up and keep on striving and cited the example of Quaid-e-Azam who strove for a great cause and succeeded in creating Pakistan.

    He said due to economic mismanagement of the past, the people had to endure price hike and inflation and the government had to take loans from International Monetary Fund (IMF) on stringent conditionalities.

    He thanked Pakistan Army and Pakistan Air Force for countering aggression of India after the Pulwama incident and said there was no reason to have critical views about national institutions.

    He said the PTI government was fully committed to its three guiding principles of humanity, rule of law and self-respect.

    He said no country could progress if there was no of rule of law. He recalled that
    Asif Ali Zardari landed in jail because of his corrupt practices whenever the PPP government was ousted in the past.

    He said the countries got weakened when the ministers indulged in corruption
    and cited the Holy Prophet’s system of justice of the Riyasat-e-Madinah.

    He referred to a UN report which pointed out that $1000 billion was being transferred from developing countries to the developed ones every year which resulted in a widening gap between the rich and the poor.

    According to another report, $10 billion was sent from Pakistan every year to bank accounts abroad to purchase properties there, he added.

    He said the anti-corruption department of Punjab had recovered only Rs 2.5 billion during the regime of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz while in the tenure of present government, its recoveries stood at Rs 450 billion. Similarly, the recoveries of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) rose to Rs 519 billion in the last three years from Rs 290 billion in 18 years, he added.

    Imran Khan said for the first time, the PTI government launched Ehsaas programme and enhanced the social sector allocation from Rs 110 billion to Rs 260 billion.

    The World Bank declared Pakistan’s Ehsaas programme as the third best in the world, he said and added the programme played a vital role in taking care of the poor during the coronavirus pandemic.

    Additional funds were allocated for scholarships of girls as compared to the funds for boys, the PM said and added the government empowered women with renewed focus on their education.

    He said the government took steps to fully facilitate women in getting succession certificates and share of inheritance.

    Under the Kamyab Naujwan Programme, he said, youth of four million poor families would be given interest-free loans, health insurance cards, and skills training.

    Easy interest-free loans were given so that low income groups could build affordable houses, he said, adding 30 percent of the country’s population consisted of the youth.

    Imran Khan said farmers would be given subsidy through Kisaan Card so that they could buy fertilizers, pesticides and other agriculture inputs.

    Ten reservoirs including Mohmand and Dassu dams would be built to meet water requirements, he added.

    He said uniform curriculum would be introduced and Seerat-e-Nabi courses would be taught in classes from eight to ten.

    Expressing concern over the rising crimes against women and children, he underlined the need for character building of the youth with imbibing moral values.

    He told the audience about Rs1300 billion special packages for merged tribal areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and districts of Balochistan, Sindh and Gilgit-Baltistan to eliminate backwardness and deprivation of local people.

    The Prime Minister said the past leaderships did compromise dignity of the country by begging and getting loans from other states. Pakistan could make rapid progress by developing its agriculture, industry, mining, tourism and banking sectors, he opined.

    He said today business confidence had markedly improved in the country while foreign remittances were on the rise.

    He recalled Pakistan sided with the United States in the war on terror but latter carried out 480 drone attacks on its soil.

    Over 70,000 Pakistanis lost their lives in the war fought on behalf of another country, he added.

    The Prime Minister said the Afghan defence forces declined to fight for their corrupt leaders.

    He called upon the world to support the Taliban as they wanted an inclusive government in Afghanistan, and declared general amnesty for all, besides assurance that no one would be allowed to carry out terrorist attacks from their soil against other countries.

    He said the world community should help the Taliban to maintain peace in Afghanistan.

    Imran Khan recalled that Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, folk singer Attaullah Khan Esakhailvi, Ibrarul Haq and many others played an important role in taking forward Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

    He thanked the allies including Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid), Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Grand Democratic Alliance for extending support to the PTI government during the last three years.

    PM directs finalizing tight gas policy by next month