Islamabad: The federal government’s will present the budget which is expected to total about 18,500 billion rupees for the fiscal year 2024–25, for which the meeting of the National Assembly at 4 p.m. today (Wednesday).
The budget will reportedly be presented by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and approved in a federal cabinet meeting before to that. The federal budget has set aside 2100 billion rupees for defense and 9700 billion rupees for loan interest payments. For the upcoming fiscal year, the government has set up 1500 billion rupees for development initiatives.
253 billion rupees for the energy industry, 827 billion for infrastructure, 800 billion for energy sector subsidies, 206 billion for water resources, and 279 billion for transportation and communication are all included in the budget. The budget has set a goal GDP growth of 3.6 percent.
The Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) has set a goal to collect Rs12,970 billion in taxes for the upcoming fiscal year. 3720 billion rupees in additional income will need to be collected by FBR. Direct tax revenue will be Rs 3452 billion, while customs duties will increase by 267 billion rupees over the current fiscal year.Inland revenue taxes are expected to total Rs11,379 billion, direct taxes to total Rs5,512 billion, income tax to total Rs5,454 billion, with an additional objective of 1773 billion rupees included in the income tax volume. Additionally, for the first time, revenue measures totaling Rs. 2500 billion have been introduced.
The current financial year saw a drop in the rate of maternal and child mortality, although just 1% of the GDP was allocated to the health sector, according to the economic survey that was made public before to the budget. There are currently 127,855 registered nurses in the nation, 46,110 midwives, 24,022 female health workers, and 299,113 registered doctors.
According to the economic assessment, there is only one doctor for every 807 people in the nation, and there is only one dentist for every 6,702 people. at a recorded 62.8 percent literacy rate, Balochistan leads the country in terms of the percentage of children not attending school, at 47 percent, followed by Sindh at 44 percent, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 32 percent, and Punjab at 24 percent.
On the other hand, former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari chaired a meeting of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) parliamentary party, where assembly members voiced their displeasure with the budget and stated that the requirements they had set in order to support the Shehbaz government had not yet been met.Shazia Marri said, “The PPP was not taken into confidence on the budget. Does the government want us to protest?” following the meeting. The federal government’s approach is the reason we are having problems. The government’s disregard for the deal is unexpected.
PPP leader Syed Khurshid Shah told the media that they are unsure of the specific budget and its nature. Regarding the agreements with China and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), they are likewise disregarded. Previously, the opposition was given confidence. One does not take an ally seriously.
