Islamabad: The federal think-tank — established on the directives of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan — during its recent, second meeting identified several key areas to boost the country’s economy and mitigate the financial downturn brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, a news source reported.
As per the publication, PM’s Advisor on Finance Dr. Abdul Hafeez chaired a meeting of the think-tank on Saturday. Other officials present during the session included Dr. Ijaz Nabi, Dr. Ishrat Husian, Shaukat Tareen, Arif Habib, Sultan Ali Allana, and Dr. Waqar Masood.
The think-tank has been tasked to deliberate over the situation caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, understand its repercussions on the economy, and recommend measures for improved economic performance. The forum identified a number of key areas for the mitigation of an economic downturn, including small & medium-sized enterprises, large businesses, public finances and fiscal matters, banking sector and monetary affairs, social safety nets, commodity prices, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private sector, and public health challenges.
The group discussed the need to revise the policy rate and allow the public to benefit from the reduced oil prices. The members also emphasised liquidity for banks, given that banks boost the economy in times of crisis. The scope of a bailout package for large businesses and its need was also discussed — along with the reduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) to 5% from the current rate of 17%.
