Minister says govt is focused on real sector growth

ISLAMABAD: The government is focused on improving real sector growth through promotion of agriculture, industrial and services sectors, finance minister said on Monday.

Minister for Finance and Revenue Hafeez Shaikh said the government has initiated different programs, including national agriculture emergency program (NAEP) under which 13 mega projects worth Rs277 billion are under execution.

In a written reply to a question by a member of the senate, he said the objective of NAEP is to bring about improvements in water availability, soil conservation and shrimp fanning and establishing new agriculture markets.

Shaikh said National Oilseed Enhancement Program under the NAEP has been launched to boost the adoption of oilseed crops at cost of Rs10.9 billion for five years. Likewise, the government allocated Rs10 billion for locust control in the current budget while an amount of Rs12billion was allocated under the public sector development program for 2020/21 for ensuring food security and promoting agriculture sector .

The finance minister said the government enhanced agriculture credit disbursement by 3.5 percent year-on-year to Rs1.2 trillion during the fiscal year of 2020, while during the first three months of the current fiscal year, agriculture credit disbursement stood at Rs250 billion.

Meanwhile, to support industrial sector, he said the government has taken several initiatives including reduction of federal excise duty on cement from Rs2 per kilogram to Rs1.5 per kilogram, relaxation of excise duties on textile items, Rs33 billion markup subsidy for construction sector, export finance scheme maintained at 3 percent, while markup on long-term finance facility was reduced from 6 percent to 5 percent. The State Bank of Pakistan announced additional support of Rs190 billion for exporters and investors, he added.

The minister said the government’s measures in agriculture, industrial and external sectors along with controlling inflationary pressures will stimulate the economic growth and provide significant support in reducing the poverty.

In addition, Shaikh said the government also took several initiatives to promote growth and reduce poverty. These include the targeted poverty reduction intervention made through Ehsaas program, Benazir income support program, Sehat sahulat program, expanding coverage of Weseela-e-Taleem program, 10 billion tree tsunami program and clean and green Pakistan.

Under the Ehsaas emergency cash program, Rs144 billion is being disbursed for immediate cash relief of Rs12,000 each to 12 million families, while under the Kamyab Jawan youth entrepreneurship scheme Rs100 billion will be provided under low-cost loans for youth to set up or expand businesses.

The minister said the government also acted timely and announced the largest ever fiscal stimulus package of Rs1.2 trillion to mitigate the negative impacts of COVID-19. All these measures are an indication of government’s commitment to rectify the fundamentals of the economy through effective policymaking and targeted reforms to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth.