Lahore: The Caretaker Cabinet has approved an interim budget of PKR 693 billion for Punjab, according to a news report. This budget has allowed for a 10% increase in salaries and pensions as the outgoing government had also done in the last budget.
Giving details about the salient features of the budget, Caretaker Finance Minister Zia Haider Rizvi specified that out of PKR 593 billion, PKR 100.1 billion has been earmarked for development, while the remaining amount has been made available for current expenditures. He also highlighted that the development funds were for the ongoing schemes which couldn’t be delayed as the Punjab government had made international commitments for these.
Furthermore, 10% increase in pension and additional benefits have been approved. These, in addition to revenue generation targets, have been fixed at PKR 359 billion, with an increase of 16% as compared to the last fiscal year. The tax collection target has been proposed to be increased by 29% for the next year. The government has also fixed PKR 150 billion as the revenue target for Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) as compared to the revised estimate of PKR 115 billion for the ongoing year, along with PKR 74.45 billion for the Federal Board of Revenue, and PKR 35.7 billion for Excise and Taxation.
There has been more focus on the education and health sectors, with PKR 356.5 billion being allocated for education, and PKR 250 billion for the health sector.
