Rs5.37 trillion Punjab budget today

LAHORE : Punjab government will present around Rs5.37 trillion budget on Thursday (today) with an estimated annual development plan of Rs700 billion and increase in salaries and minimum wages in accordance with the federal government announcement of 20 to 25 percent and Rs3,7000, respectively.

The Punjab is likely to get Rs3.7 trillion from the federal divisible pool under National Finance Commission (NFC) award while the provincial revenue target of over Rs1.025 trillion.

The government will allocate Rs595 billion for salaries, Rs445 billion for pensions, Rs840 billion for service delivery costs, and Rs700 billion for the development budget. Specific allocations feature of Rs30 billion for Ramazan Package and Rs8 billion for the Central Business District (CBD).

In the development budget outlines, 1,863 total schemes would be presented out of 1,617 are ongoing schemes while only 246 new schemes will be launched. The roads sectors allocations are over Rs22 billion, Rs2 billion for special education Rs3.5 billion for literacy and non-formal education, Rs 4.8 billion for sports and youth affairs, Rs76.5 billion for specialised health care, Rs33.89 billion for primary health care, Rs3 billion for population welfare, Rs2 billion for water supply and sanitation, Rs1.7 billion for social welfare, Rs14 billion for local government and community development, over Rs10 billion for industries development, Rs37.3 billion for Planning and Development.

Further, no new tax will be levied in the provincial budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 while the focus will be on recovery of taxes already levied to increase resources. The government will ensure the utilisation of natural resources and government assets in the province to increase the revenue generation.

The government has been prioritising the education, health and social security while the implementation on the mega projects would be done through public private partnership. The government will continue the subsidy in food and transport sector while industry and agriculture sectors would be given special attention to increase the provincial productivity.

Both local and international investors will be given equal opportunities for investment. The investment will also be made in the IT sector of the productive sectors for economic development. The difficulties of the manufacturers and the grievances of the business community will be redressed in the budget.