Budget 2023-24: Small measures, limited gains

Pakistan’s targeted GDP growth of 3.5 per cent for the next fiscal year isn’t too low to create some jobs. And meeting this target over a skinny base of 0.3pc growth during this year is also not at all difficult. The budget FY24 presents some proposals which, if approved and implemented honestly and efficiently throughout the next fiscal year, can create jobs in some sub-sectors of industries and services. Massive job opportunities are expected to open in IT and IT-enabled services as the budget FY24 offers a flurry of incentives, including tax cuts and awarding IT and IT-es the small and medium enterprises status. This, in turn, will also help earn the much-needed foreign exchange and ease pressure on the external account. Announced budgetary measures for the revival of agriculture can also help contain job losses in this sector. But creating net additional jobs in agriculture will remain a challenge in view of anticipated water scarcity.