ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar will present the budget in the National Assembly scheduled to meet at 4:00 pm at the parliament house in Islamabad.
On Thursday, the Finance Minister formally launched the ‘Pakistan Economic Survey 2022-23’, the pre-budget document which shared key economic indicators and the performance of different economic sectors during the outgoing fiscal year.
As the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government failed to reach agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ahead of today’s budget for the fiscal year 2023-24, with a total outlay of Rs 14,500 billion, accompanied by a deficit of Rs 750 billion. The budget proposal includes the potential for a 20% salary increase for employees and a 15% rise in pension payments for retired individuals.
The budget aims to alleviate people’s suffering, transform the agriculture sector, promote information technology (IT), and boost exports. It will prioritise fiscal management, revenue mobilisation, economic stabilisation and growth, reduction in non-development expenditures, job creation, and people-friendly policies for the socio-economic prosperity of the country.
In order to promote the agriculture sector in the country, local lending financial institutions have disbursed an amount of Rs 1,222 billion to the farming community during the period from July-March 2023.
According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2022-23 launched Thursday, the disbursement comprised 67.2% of the overall annual target and was 27.5% higher than the Rs 958.3 billion disbursed during the same period last year.
Further, the outstanding portfolio of agricultural loans has increased by Rs 80.2 billion and reached Rs 712.9 billion at the end of March 2023, compared to Rs 632.7 billion at the end of March 2022, witnessing 12.7% growth.
Read more: Dar unveils Economic Survey 2022-23; GDP growth rate plummeted to 0.3%
