Sen. Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister of Finance and Revenue, released the federal budget for the fiscal year 2024–25, which is focused on alleviation and amounts to Rs18.877 trillion.
The finance minister stated that the GDP growth target for the fiscal year 2024–25 is set at 3.6 percent, while the inflation rate is anticipated to stay at 12 percent, while presenting the federal budget 2024–25 to the National Assembly.
According to him, the primary surplus for the review period is expected to be 1.0 percent of GDP, while the budget deficit to GDP for the time under review is forecast to be 6.9 percent.
The Minister stated that the Federal Board of Revenue anticipates collecting Rs12,970 billion in revenue in the upcoming fiscal year. He also mentioned that tax revenue collection increased by 38% in the previous fiscal year, with the province contributing Rs7,438 billion.
According to him, the federal government’s net income will be Rs9,119 billion, while the federation’s non-tax revenue projections are set at Rs3,587 billion.
Of the total, the federal government is expected to spend Rs18,877 billion, with interest payments accounting for Rs9,775 billion.
In its current budget, the government has set aside Rs1,400 billion for the Public Sector Development Programme. He also mentioned that an additional amount of Rs100 billion would be set aside for public-private partnerships.
He said that this year’s total development budget of Rs. 1,500 billion was the greatest in the history of the nation.
According to the minister, the government would set aside Rs. 2,122 billion for defence and Rs. 839 billion for civil administration.
In the meantime, Rs1,014 billion is set aside for pension costs, on top of the Rs1,363 billion budgeted for gas, electricity, and other sector subsidies.
Aware of the financial difficulties Federal Government employees were facing as a result of rising inflation, the Minister of Finance suggested a 20–25% ad hoc salary rise and a 15% increase in pensions.
Despite financial limits, the government has decided to grant 25% ad hoc relief in the salaries of employees from Grades 1-16 and 20% to Grades 17-22 employees in order to increase their purchasing power, according to the minister presenting the Federal Budget for the fiscal year 2024–25.
Additionally, he declared raising the minimum salary to Rs 37000 per month from the current Rs 32000.
The Finance Minister went on to say that grants totaling Rs1,777 billion have been set aside for the development of the IT, railway, BISP, AJK, Gilgit-Baltistan, merging districts of KP, and HEC.
According to the Finance Minister, the government has announced a historic federal PSDP at Rs1,500 billion, which exceeds the revised PSDP from the previous year by 101%.
