ISLAMABAD, May 24 (APP): Finance Minister, Senator Mohammad
Ishaq Dar, will formally launch the Economic Survey 2016-17 on
Thursday.
The minister will share the key economic indicators and the
performance of different sectors of the economy with the media here at a press conference.
The Finance Minister will also provide an overview of the
economic progress made in recent years in Pakistan, official sources
said.
He will highlight the main features of the comprehensive
reforms agenda undertaken by the present government, which had
resulted in macro-economic stability and a ten-year high growth rate
of 5.28 per cent.
The Finance Minister will present the budget for FY 2017-2018
on the floor of the National Assembly on Friday (May 26).
In his budget speech, the Finance Minister will provide
details of the revenue, expenditure and relief measures envisaged
for the next fiscal year.
The survey will cover the development of all the important
sectors of economy, including growth and investment, agriculture,
manufacturing, mining, fiscal development, money and credit, capital
markets, inflation, debt and liabilities.
The survey will also highlight the performance of agriculture,
education, health and nutrition, besides showing the overall
population, labour force and employment, poverty, transport and
communication and per capita income.
It will also highlight issues of environment, contingent
liabilities, tax expenditure as well as economic and social
indicators.
The government would also launch the annual plan, highlighting
government’s preparation and planning for the upcoming fiscal year
in different sectors of national economy.
Meanwhile, the National Economic Council (NEC) chaired by
Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on May 19, had already approved
the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth target at 6 percent for the
financial year 2017-18 while the government achieved a GDP growth
rate of 5.3 percent in the outgoing fiscal year.
The NEC also approved country’s consolidated development
budget of Rs 2.5 trillion for the upcoming financial year (2017 18),
showing highest ever increase in the overall national outlay.
This included Rs 1001 billion Federal Public Sector
Development Programme (PSDP), Rs 1112 billion provincial PSDP while
Rs 400 billion would be spent by various corporations from their
own resources to carry out their development projects.
Social sector has been given importance in the development
budget 2017-18, financing for which has been increased from Rs 90
billion to Rs 153 billion.
Furthermore, in order to promote higher education and lead the
country towards development, the budget for Higher Education
Commission (HEC) has also been increased from Rs 21 billion in 2016
17 to Rs 35.5 billion in 2017 18.
Similarly, the government also envisaged establishing of
university campuses at district levels across the country within
three years.
The Atomic Energy Commission was also being provided
additional funds to upgrade its cancer facilitation centers.
For promotion of literature and culture, the government would
be expanding the outreach of Academy of Letters across the country
by establishing its centers.
Likewise, an amount of Rs 17 billion has been specifically
approved for Balochistan to improve communication system and for
different water related projects.
