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Friday, 9 June, 2023 I 19 Zilqad, 1444
Rs 15.00 | Vol XIII No 340 I 8 Pages I Lahore Edition
‘AMBITIOUS’ GOVT SET TO UNVEIL FEDERAL BUDGET WITH RS14TR OUTLAY TODAY ELECTION YEAR
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Cash-strapped govt plans to attract voters with 17 key initiatives worth Rs80b
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ISLAMABAD
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Rs1,150b allocated for development schemes to help Parliamentarians woo public ahead of polls
shahzad Paracha
ITH an eye on the election year, the federal government is all set to present budget with an outlay of Rs 14 trillion today (Friday) in the National Assembly. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar will present the budget in the National Assembly scheduled to meet at 4pm today. Sources said that the government has proposed Rs1150 billion Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) to help the coalition parties win the upcoming election. The Federal government has decided to undertake 17 important initiatives in next year’s PSDP to lure the votes in upcoming general election. Sources said that the Shahbaz-led government plans lure voters with these initiatives worth Rs 80 billion to attract the voters. The inititaives included Prime Minister’s Initiatives for Solar Tube Wells, Prime Minister’s Youth Program for Small Loans, Pakistan Endowment Fund for Education, Prime Minister’s Initiatives Support for IT Start-ups and Venture Capital, Prime Minister’s Initiatives for Women Empowerment, Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme, Prime Minister’s Green Revolution 2.0, Prime Minister’s Youth Skill Development, Prime Minister’s Initiative for Sports, Prime Minister’s Hepatitis-C Control Program, National Program for Prevention of Diabetes, National MultiSectoral Nutrition Program, Establishment of Governance Innovation Lab, Women on Wheels, Establishment of National Fund for Addressing the Crisis of Out of School Children, One Stop Service Centre for Special Economic Zone, and Construction of Faiz Ahmed Faiz Complex Flood Protection Sector Program (FPSP-III). Sources said that the government has also al-
located Rs90 billion development budget for parliamentarians in next year. Sources said that the government may increase the government employees pay and pension upto 20 percent but the final decision will be taken by the PM today in the cabinet meeting. The Pakistan People Party (PPP) has already asked the PM to raise government employee salaries by 50percent. Sources also said that the Finance Minister has given approval to set Rs9.2 trillion tax revenue target of the Federal Board of Revenue for next fiscal year. The government may announce incentives for the IT, construction and
agriculture sector in next year’s budget. On the other hand, the government has also proposed to increase the Petroleum Development levy from Rs50 to Rs60 per litre. A Rs10 per litre hike in the levy is estimated to generate Rs870 billion. The Federal government is likely to impose withholding tax on above Rs50,000 banking transactions in next year’s budget. Sources said that the Federal Board of Revenue has proposed to impose 0.6percent WHT on non filers on banking transactions in next year’s budget. Whereas, there would be no tax on filers for cash withdrawal..
Pakistan’s economy grew only 0.29pc in FY22-23 g
Dar presents Economic Survey, painting bleak economic picture ISLAMABAD
Ghulam abbas & shahzad Paracha
One day before he presents perhaps the most important budget Pakistan has had in a decade, finance minister Ishaq Dar unveiled the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2022-23 which presented a bleak picture of the year that was. With depleting forex reserves, strict import restrictions that have crippled industry, a stalled IMF programme, and political chaos that has caused significant loss of confidence in the country Pakistan’s economy grew by a paltry 0.29% in the outgoing year falling well short of the 5% targeted growth. Addressing the dire state of the economy inherited by the current coalition government, Minister Dar emphasized that the previous administration left behind an economy plagued by severe macroeconomic imbalances and lacking credibility, making it challenging to establish favorable international deals. However, through paying a political cost, the coalition government managed to save the country from default. Despite numerous constraints, the gross domestic product (GDP) recorded a positive growth of 0.29% in the outgoing fiscal year. Minister Dar commended the government’s successful implementation of structural reforms in various sectors, including power and gas, fiscal policies, and education. These reforms, pending for several years, had previously been neglected by the previous government. Minister Dar highlighted the ongoing Research on Improving Systems of Education (RISE) program and announced significant financial support for Pakistan from the World Bank and the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank once the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program resumed after necessary reforms were completed. The finance minister highlighted significant improvements in the country’s financial indicators. The primary deficit of Rs 890 billion during the last year’s ten months had transformed into a surplus of Rs 99 billion, while the current account deficit witnessed a substantial improvement of 76%, decreasing from $13.7 billion to $3.3 billion. Minister Dar acknowledged the negative impact of the global economic scenario on Pakistan’s progress, with a decline in global GDP growth from 6.2% in 2021 to 2.8% and a rise in global inflation by 85% from 4.7% in 2021 to 8.7% in 2022. Global trade growth also declined by five times from 9.4% in 2021 to 1.7% in 2023. Highlighting the challenges faced by Pakistan due to the unprecedented floods that occurred last year, Minister Dar mentioned efforts underway to rebuild the damaged infrastructure in the affected areas, with the planning minister and ministry actively working towards that goal. Regarding the exchange rate, Minister Dar suggested the presence of hidden forces artificially keeping the Pakistani rupee undervalued.
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