Pakistan to present Rs18 trillion budget on Wednesday

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led federal government will present its first growth-oriented budget for the fiscal year 2024-25, with an estimated outlay of over Rs18 trillion, on June 12 (Wednesday).

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb will present the budget on the National Assembly floor.

“The budget will be aimed at mitigating the people’s sufferings, transforming the agriculture sector, promoting information technology (IT), and boosting exports,” the government sources said

The government also claimed that in addition to fiscal management, revenue mobilisation, measures for economic stabilization and growth, reduction in non-development expenditures, job creation and people-friendly policies for the socioeconomic prosperity of the country would feature in the budget.

The preparations for the announcement of the federal budget for fiscal year 2024-25 continued in full swing in accordance with the prescribed timelines.

The budget is being prepared in close coordination among all the departments and ministries involved in the budget-related events, including the presentation of the budget in the Parliament and launching of the Economic Survey.

It is pertinent to mention here that the budget is being presented when Pakistan is deliberating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a package of up to $8 billion.

Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb unveiled the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2023-24, stating that the country recorded a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 2.38 percent, up from the envisaged target of 2pc.

Addressing a presser at the launching ceremony of the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2023-24, Federal Minister for Finance Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb said that despite challenges, the country had made significant progress in achieving macroeconomic stability, with a remarkable 30 percent growth in revenue collection, a reduced current account deficit, reduction in inflation and a stable currency.

The finance minister said that this situation indicated a remarkable turnaround from a precarious economic situation, characterized by a 0.2percent GDP contraction, 29percent rupee depreciation, and shrinking foreign exchange reserves, which had declined to just two weeks’ worth of import cover.

Muhammad Aurangzaib said that despite challenges in the large-scale manufacturing (LSM) sector due to interest rates and energy issues, the country’s GDP growth had found a silver lining in the agriculture sector, which had been boosted by bumper crops.

He said that the agriculture, dairy, and livestock sectors are expected to remain a key driver of growth in the years to come.