ISLAMABAD: The Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) meeting, held under the chairmanship of Federal Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, has proposed Rs1.675 trillion development budget and set an economic growth target of 5.7% for the next fiscal year.
Ahsan Iqbal told media after the meeting that It was a tough challenge to adjust Rs1.8 trillion demands by ministries and provinces within finance ministry’s given envelope of just Rs655 billion.
The minister said that the problem with the federal PSDP is that out of 3Ds (defence, debt and development) the share of development budget is the lowest. “The major share of GDP goes to debt servicing which costs around Rs 1500 billion. Defence spending is around Rs 800 billion, while developmental budget is Rs 800 billion,” he informed.
However, he said that the total PSDP allocation has been increased from Rs 700 billion (2015-16) to Rs 800 billion for the upcoming fiscal. Similarly, he added, the total developmental outlay has also been increased to Rs 1675 billion. “The provinces and ministries have submitted the projects worth Rs 1800 billion for inclusion in the PSDP and the government will try to accommodate it in the current PSDP ceiling,” he said.
Ahsan Iqbal said a record amount of Rs21 billion would be allocated for Higher Education Commission next year. He added that energy, infrastructure and human resource development are the top priorities of the government in the upcoming budget. He said the priority had been given to projects of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which could be completed at the earliest. Energy projects including those relating to Wapda and transmission and distribution will be accelerated, he said.
