GEO 436 ISLAMABAD: Minister for Finance and Revenue Hafeez Shaikh on Tuesday said that the people of Pakistan are centre and heart of the budget 2010-11 and the government tried to provide relief to the common man. "The budget was made in difficult economic condition but it is triumph of the parliament that we are taking agenda of economic reforms forward," he said while winding up budget debate in National Assembly. Hafeez Shaikh said that since the budget was people-centric so there was no question of taking measures in the budget that would have inflationary impact. He said that no mystery was created in the budget and the figures presented were realistic to ensure transparency adding that the budget should be an open document so that the people discuss it at every forum. However, the finance minister said that since the budget was an instrument of economic management so it could not cover each and every aspect of economy adding that it is just management of government's expenditures and revenues. "Pakistan has made international commitments and being a sovereign country we have to fulfill these commitments. Similarly, the country is facing security challenges and we have to protect law enforcing forces," he remarked. He said that it was the first budget after the 18th amendment and National Finance Commission (NFC) award; it would trengthen the provinces and protect the federation. It was no more a budget of bureaucracy, rather it was people centric, he added. Shaikh lauded the government for bringing the country's economy out of crisis and putting it on right path, however added that the economy recovery was fragile which needed proper attention and care to sustain. "The economic recovery was a difficult task, but the credit goes to the government for taking bold and unpopular decisions. The recovery is fragile and we have to tackle it like a little plant to nourish, otherwise it would collapse," the finance minister remarked. He said the past two years witnessed economic recovery with four per cent growth rate of the GDP and reduction of inflation from 25 to 12 per cent, he added. Hafeez Shaikh lauded the role of government and opposition for commending and criticizing the finance bill. He said that it was the first budget of Pakistan that has been discussed so much. He also appreciated the efforts of Senate body on finance and Revenue, Chairman and member of Senate and members of National Assembly for their recommendations and criticism. He said the parliamentarians have given a clear massage that they were coming with the theme "unit." Hafeez Shaikh said that the government has taken several measures in the budget to control the inflation. These included freezing of expenditure. Even the President and the Prime Minister have voluntarily accepted the freeze, he added. He said the people used to say that the government had withdrawn duty on edible items, including pulses and rice. There is no duty on these edible items and the subsidies on edible items are still intact, he added. He said not a single item's Customs Duty has been increased rather it has been reduced on 29 items that have direct impact on people's lives. In addition, he said the government has increased salaries of government employees by 50 percent besides raising pensions. "When there is inflation, we have two choices either to reduce prices or compensate through other means like we increased the salaries of the government employees," he remarked. He said the government would consider further increase in government employees salaries as proposed. Hafeez Sheikh said that another relief has been provided to people by enhancing the taxable income from Rs. 8,500 to Rs. 25,000, saying that this measure would benefit at least 0.8 million people. He said minimum wages have also been enhanced from Rs.6,000 to Rs.7,000 adding that after the recommendations of Senate for further increase, a committee has been constituted to consider the matter. He said on one side the government has increased wages of the government employees and on the other it has reduced the salaries of cabinet members by 10 per cent. The finance minister said the budget has introduced a unique idea to provide targeted subsidies to the people adding that the scope of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) has been increased to achieve this target. He said that the BISP allocations have been enhanced from Rs.46 billion last year to Rs.50 billion this year. Besides Rs.2 billion have been provided to Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal, he added. He said that health insurance scheme has been introduce to help the deserved besides Rs. 3 billion provided for the internships of post-graduate students. He said there was much criticism on health and education allocations, adding that since 57 percent of the budget has been provided to the provinces, it would have direct impact on the lives of people. He said that the provinces have got 86 per cent increase in allocations under Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) adding that "those criticizing the government should not ignore the facts". He said Rs. 280 billion are federal share of PSDP against the realized PSDP amount of Rs.240 billion last year. He said there has been a policy shift in PSDP allocations as the projects nearing completion would be given priority instead of starting new ones. He said the funding would be made through an automatic mechanism and the finance ministry would have no hold on realizing funds according to its own priorities. He said that the government has provided special allocations for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) which would give new direction to their development.
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