In its meeting held on 6th June 2023, the National Economic Council (NEC)approved the national development outlay for 2023-24 at Rs2.71 trillion, including the federal Public Sector Development Programme at Rs1.15tr and provincial Annual Development Programme at Rs1.56tr. In 2022-23, the NEC approved a national development outlay of Rs2.26tr, including provincial ADPs of Rs1.46tr and federal PS
The federal government has cleared for implementation 13 old renewable energy (RE) projects of about 700 megawatts — commonly called Category-III projects — and has referred the matter to the Council of Common Interests (CCI) for formal approval as bidding for a lot of 600MW solar project at Muzaffargarh received poor investor response. Informed sources said a special cabinet committee led by
The shares market observed another dull session on Thursday as a stern statement by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the 2023-24 budget kept sentiments down. Topline Securities noted the global lender expressed concerns about the amnesty scheme announced in the federal budget on the pretext that it ran against the programme’s conditions. In addition, the IMF statement also referred to
THE IMF’s criticism of Pakistan’s reckless budget for fiscal year 2023-24 carries profound risks for the economy. The June 30 deadline for meeting the lender’s conditions to unlock funding will likely be missed unless the government agrees to review the document and remedy its weaknesses. It would not be surprising if it does so, considering that it had to hurriedly, but comprehensively, revise
WITH dangerously low foreign exchange reserves and a steep debt repayment schedule looming for fiscal year 2024 that begins in July, Pakistan is facing a stark prospect of potential default or even a larger balance of payments crisis in the 12 months ahead. Data obtained unofficially from a senior source privy to the country’s debt repayment schedule shows Pakistan faces $8.7 billion outflows o