Important update for govt employees regarding increase in salaries, pensions

LAHORE: The Punjab government is expected to present the provincial budget a day after the federal budget for the fiscal year 2024-25, ARY News reported.

According to sources, the increase in salaries and pensions of government employees in Punjab will be equal to that of the centre.

The sources said that the Punjab government will allocate Rs 596 billion for salaries and Rs 445 billion for payment of pensions.

The total budget for Punjab is expected to be Rs. 5,370 billion, with Rs. 3,700 billion coming from the federal government under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award.

According to the sources, Rs 30 billion will be fixed aside for Ramadan package, Rs 8 billion for CBD, while the Chief Minister has proposed to allocate Rs 9 billion for Roshan Gharana, Rs 7 billion fir Apni Chhat Apna Ghar and Rs 40 billion for Green Pakistan Initiative.

It has been proposed to keep Rs 1 billion for Journalists Endowment Fund and Rs 300 billion for PRA, Rs 105 billion for Board of Revenue and Rs 55 billion for Excise.

Apart from this, it is proposed to keep Rs 121 billion for payment of external debt, while the target of Punjab in non-provincial revenue will be Rs 555 billion.

Earlier in a statement, the provincial minister said that the federal budget is scheduled to be announced on June 11, and Punjab will follow suit a day later.

However, Shuja said, if the federal government changes the date, Punjab will present its budget on June 14 instead.

The upcoming budget will be tax-free, the minister announced, adding that the Punjab Kisan Card will be launched on August 14 with a package of Rs400 billion.

Additionally, the government is in talks with foreign companies to improve public transportation in the province, Shuja revealed.

Earlier in May, it was reported that Pakistan government will present the financial year 2024/25 annual budget on June 10.

The budget was originally due to be presented on June 7 but was delayed because of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Beijing from June 4 to June 8, said sources.