Government Sets 4.8% Growth Target For Next Year
The past three years of the present Government have faced numerous economic challenges; aggravated by the Covid 19 Pandemic; the Government so far has successfully progressed from retrieval and maintenance for sustainable growth as mentioned in Budget 2021-22. The Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) has approved the federal Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) outlay of Rs900 billion besides endorsing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate target of 4.8 percent for the upcoming fiscal year 2021-22; Minister for Planning; Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said.
“The size of federal PSDP has been increased by 40 percent from Rs650 billion to Rs900 billion next year; which would be the highest expenditures in one year in the history of Pakistan;” he said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Friday. He said this increase in the PSDP would crowd in more investment that would contribute to the 0.25 percent increase in the country’s GDP growth. Recalling the higher growth of 5.4 percent during the previous government, the minister said that during that year, the country’s current account deficit (CAD) stood at around $20 billion or 6 percent of the total GDP.
The Government’s priorities are as follows:
- Comprehensive and maintaining economic growth
- Pro-poor enterprises and social safety net through the Ehsaas Program’s vertical and horizontal development
- Decrease in inflation and price control and monitoring
- Augmented development spending for more job opportunities
- PM’s initiatives; including Kamyab Jawan and Kissan Program
- Influence modification of Covid-19 and the continuance of the Incentive PackageCircular debt financing and power subventions Revenue mobilization without new taxes
- Support of the Housing Sector and the Construction Industry through Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme and SME support programs
- Facilitating expatriate’s transmittals and savings through the Roshan Digital Account
- Pakistan Remittances Initiatives and other schemes
- Following are the focus disciplines for the federal government in Budget 2021-22.
The current fiscal year:
On the contrary; he said during the current fiscal year the current account would post a minor surplus; while next year the CAD would stand at $2.3 billion or 0.7 percent of the GDP. “Our economy can bear the current account deficit of up to 2 percent of GDP,” he maintained. Asad Umar said the current year’s GDP growth of 3.94% was based on productive sectors, however, during the previous government, the growth rate was consumption-driven which was not a healthy sign for any economy.
#Budget2021 What PM Imran Khan says:
video via @AbdulqadirARY pic.twitter.com/qmFL6Z9NAe
— Imran Ghazali (@ImranGhazaliPK) June 11, 2021
Before deep pocket starts portraying defence budget as 80% of total budget, here are actual figures of defence budget from #Budget2021
1373/8487 * 100 = 16.1 %
So defence budget is only 16% of total budget and u can also see chart below with expanse per soldier in year 2020 pic.twitter.com/v5aNnWAKUg
— Chaudhary Yasif (@IamYasif) June 11, 2021
Before deep pocket starts portraying defence budget as 80% of total budget, here are actual figures of defence budget from #Budget2021
1373/8487 * 100 = 16.1 %
So defence budget is only 16% of total budget#Pakistan 🇵🇰🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/3lzYydsPKq
— Developing Pakistan (@developingpak) June 11, 2021
He said the Gross National Product (GNP) in which remittances were also included posted a record increase of 6.5 percent as compared to the previous year which was the highest in 16 years. He said the APCC in its meeting today also approved the annual plan for the upcoming fiscal year according to which the investment to GDP ratio was set at 16 percent as compared to the current year’s ratio of 15.2 percent.
