ISLAMABAD - The National Economic Council (NEC) on TuesÂday approved the naÂtional development outÂlay of Rs2,709 billion for the upcoming budget.
Following the NEC meeting, federal minisÂter for planning MinisÂter Ahsan Iqbal told reÂporters during a press briefing that the NEC also approved GDP growth at 3.5pc and inÂflation at 21pc during the FY 2023-24.
He said that the meetÂing was presided over by the Prime MinisÂter, and was attendÂed by the chief minisÂters Punjab, Sindh, KP and Minister for PlanÂning Balochistan. The minister said that in orÂder to conserve enerÂgy and save foreign exÂchange, the forum also approved the closure of shops and commerÂcial centres across the country by 8pm.
He said that the naÂtional developmental outlay of Rs 2.709 trilÂlion which includes the federal developÂment outlay (PSDP) of Rs 1150 billion, includÂing Rs 950 PSDP & RsÂ200bln Viability Gap Funding (VGF), and provincial development outlay (ADPs) of Rs 1559 billion. The share of foreign exchange reserve in the national development outlay is Rs 644bln, which includes Rs 75bln in the Federal PSDP, while in the provincial ADPs its share is Rs 568bln.
Of Rs 950bln PSDP, MinÂistries/Divisions will get Rs 485bln, Corporations (NHA, WAPDA-Power) Rs 215bln and Provincial Projects under FD Rs42bln. The allocations for AJK and Gilgit Baltistan to Rs 61bln from Rs 55bln, merged district of KP from Rs 53bln to Rs 57bln, he added. Ahsan Iqbal said that the allocation for NHA in the upcoming PSDP has been enÂhanced to Rs 161bln from the existing Rs 102bln, Water ReÂsources from Rs 97bln to Rs 110bln, SDG’s Rs 90bln, HEC from Rs 44bln to Rs 59.715bln and Food and Agriculture from Rs 13bln to Rs 45bln.
For balanced regional develÂopment, an amount of Rs. 108 bln has been proposed includÂing Rs. 57 bln for Merged DisÂtricts of KP, Rs. 32.5 bln for AJ&K and Rs. 28.5 bln for GB to bring them at par with other areas of country. Projects with 80% plus expenditure have been adÂequately financed for compleÂtion by June, 2024.Around 52% of total allocation has been proÂposed for Infrastructure sector to ensure modern infrastrucÂture and to attract foreign direct investment
Within infrastructure, proÂposed allocation for Transport & Communication is Rs. 267 bilÂlion (28% of the total size), WaÂter Sector allocation is Rs. 110 billion (11.57%), Energy SecÂtor’s proposed allocation is Rs. 89 billion (9% of the total size), Physical Planning & Housing (PP&H) proposed allocation is Rs. 43 billion i.e. 4% of the toÂtal size. The minister further inÂformed that the major chunk, of the PSDP 2023-24, of Rs 137bln will be going to Balochistan, folÂlowed by Sindh Rs 80bln and Punjab 79bln. For out of school children Rs 25bln will be alÂlocated in the next budget, he maintained.
He said that issues pertainÂing to energy and infrastrucÂture were discussed during the meeting. Energy has become a huge challenge for Pakistan due to global price hike, the minister said and added that Saudi Arabia has recently imÂposed a cut of one million barÂrels on oil production, which poses a risk of oil prices hike to $100 per barrel.
The government wants to miÂnimise reliance on fossil fuel. It has been decided that no new power generation project will be installed on imported fuel, he said. Projects of solar, wind and hydel energy will be promoted and no new project will be inÂstalled based on imported fuel, the minister added.
Similarly, measures relatÂed to energy conservation has also been approved by the NEC, he informed. The PlanÂning Minister said that the NEC had approved an energy conÂservation plan under which shops and commercial centers across the country would be closed by 8pm.
Ahsan Iqbal said that earliÂer the federal cabinet under a National Energy Conservation Plan in January 2023 had deÂcided the closure of commercial centers and shops by 8.30pm. However, there was no repreÂsentation of provinces in the cabinet meeting therefore the matter was again taken up in the NEC, where provincial govÂernment representatives were also present. Now it is hoped that the provinces will ensure the implementation of the enÂergy conservation package that has been approved today, the minister maintained.
The steps for energy conserÂvation recommended under this plan, such as the closure of shops and commercial cenÂtres by 8pm, switching to LED lights and upgrading geysers to make them more energy efÂficient, could help the country save up to $1 billion annually, Ahsan claimed.
Replying to a query on Health Card, the Minister informed that it is not sustainable to give free health facility to a Mercedes ridÂer and bicycle rider. Therefore a committee has been constituted to rationalize the program and its beneficiaries.
The NEC also was briefed on 5Es Framework to Turn Around Pakistan- (Export, E-Pakistan, Environment & Climate Change, Energy & Infrastructure and EqÂuity & Empowerment,) transÂformational modal, the minister maintained.
The modal aim to accelerate the national growth and achieve the target GDP of $1000 billion. The NEC also approved PakiÂstan economic outlook 2035, he informed.
The NEC was also briefed on 4RF i.e. Resilient, Recovery, ReÂhabilitation and Reconstruction Framework in the aftermath of catastrophic floods 2022. VarÂious projects have been envisÂaged to implement 4RFs strateÂgies and 5Es plans.
Also, the government has deÂcided to make energy reforms part of the upcoming federal budget. The decision was made at a meeting on budgetary proÂposals for the energy sector with PM in the chair at PM office in Islamabad on Monday.
Prime Minister Shehbaz SharÂif also directed to take measures to fulfill the energy needs of the export industry on priority baÂsis. He said that renewable enÂergy projects should be started by reducing reliance on the exÂpensive imported fuel in a gradÂual manner. He said effective measures should be proposed in the next budget in order to control line losses and electricÂity theft. Shehbaz Sharif further advised to include wind and soÂlar energy projects in the upÂcoming budget.
Emphasising the importance of an efficient transmission sysÂtem, he said power transmisÂsion projects should be comÂpleted at the earliest. He said transformer metering should be made part of the next budget for the elimination of line losses and the pilferage of electricity.
The prime minister further directed to expedite the ongoÂing solarization projects in the country. He said early compleÂtion of hydel projects should be given priority.The meeting was apprised that four phases of the bidding for solarization of govÂernment buildings have been completed, after which several buildings are being shifted on the solar energy. A detail briefÂing was also given on the steps taken to provide uninterrupted supply of gas and electricity to the export industry.
The Prime Minister directed to finalize these measures and include them to the next budget.
‘Mega incentives for IT sector’
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday diÂrected relevant authorities to include mega incentives for the Information Technology sector in the fiscal budget 2023-24 to boost country’s IT export.
Chairing a high-level meetÂing on promotion of the IT secÂtor, he directed to prepare a big package for the sector in the upÂcoming fiscal budget.
The prime minister decided to introduce fixed tax regime for the sector in the budget and also constituted a committee on it, besides directing the body to submit its recommendations immediately, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release.
The meeting also accorded apÂproval in principle for providing special incentives to new busiÂness start-ups in the sector.
Special concessions for proÂmotion of business and trade through modern technology were also approved.
During the meeting, it was also decided to take the initiaÂtives that were crucial to enÂcourage youth for starting their own businesses.
The prime minister approved a major decision of creating special training IT zones for promoting entrepreneurship.
He said that the government would spend huge amount on the training of youth in the secÂtor. Currently, a total of 45,000 young people across the counÂtry were being trained in the sector, he added.
The prime minister further said that in the upcoming fiscal budget, the government would distribute 1,00,000 laptops among the youth on merit basis.
During the previous tenure of the PML-N government, they had distributed laptops among the country’s youth and by utiÂlizing this facility, the young people brought foreign reÂserves during the Covid panÂdemic, he observed.
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