PSDP allocations termed development-centric

ISLAMABAD: Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms, on Monday informed the Senate the government has made rational and adequate allocation under Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for provinces and less developed areas for increasing pace of development and progress.

“The amount was allocated to address the feelings of deprivation and reduce the level of poverty in these under developed areas,” the minister said giving details on the provincial allocations for PSDP.

The minister said the government has allocated Rs 42 billion for federal capital, Rs97 billion for Punjab (11 percent), Sindh Rs70 billion (8 percent), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Rs93 billion (10 percent), Balochistan Rs80 billion (9.3 percent), Rs32 billion (3.7 percent) for AJK, 3.3 percent for Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), and 3.4 percent for Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA).

“Besides a software park, medical and technical colleges are being built in GB, while several other development projects are being started in Fata and GB,” Iqbal said.

The minister added that the present allocation of Rs1000 billion under PSDP was the highest ever in the country's history, whereas the government has earmarked the 90 percent of the amount in the PSDP for on-going projects, following financial discipline with focus on completion of meaningful projects.

“An amount of Rs 411 billion has been allocated for infrastructure development while an amount of Rs 404 billion has been earmarked for energy sector, the planning minister said and added sufficient allocation has been made for human resource development.

Iqbal said that Rs35 billion has been allocated for Higher Education Commission (HEC) to improve the skills of talented youth through overseas scholarships. “Around 10,000 youth would be sent to US universities under the same,” he said.  The minister informed Senate that to meet challenges in Information Technology sector, the government would train 100,000 youth on IT. He added the government has planned an international center of civilization and a strategy on climate change to improve weather forecast system, which will be implemented down the line.