Centre, provinces agree to deliver Rs600bn surplus

As part of efforts to regain some of the fiscal space lost under the 7th National Finance Commission to provinces almost 15 years ago, the federal government has signed agreements with the four provinces to deliver a cumulative fiscal surplus of at least Rs600 billion and refrain from creating further debt in operations of key commodities like fertiliser, wheat and other eatables until the close of this fiscal year in June. This development has been reported to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the Ministry of Finance to highlight the collaborative efforts to adhere to stringent fiscal discipline. The first quarter of the fiscal year (July-September 2023) witnessed a modest combined surplus of Rs51bn from the provinces, with Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa actually overspending instead of making efforts for fiscal restraint and thus facing deficits of Rs29bn and Rs10bn, respectively. In contrast, Sindh and Balochistan repo­rted surpluses of Rs19bn and Rs71bn.