The government has decided to expand the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) from 3.4 million households primarily to 7 million to provide financial assistance to poorest of the poor.
Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance Shaukat Tarin told reporters on Saturday that in a move to mitigate financial problems of the common man, one member each from 7 million selected families would be imparted technical training besides providing monthly stipend and employment after the training within the country or abroad.
Tarin said providing relief to poor segments of the society is top most priority of the government. Farmer-friendly policies have been introduced to facilitate them to increase per acre production aimed at overcoming the present food crisis. Increased support price of wheat and subsidy on fertilisers would play pivotal role in boosting agricultural production, he added.
Commenting on the economic situation, Tarin said presently the economy is under pressure as food prices are increasing in domestic and international markets due to price hike in petroleum products.
He said previous government did not pass on increase in oil prices to consumers due to election year and made undue investment in various development and non-development projects, which put the economy "totally out of tune." He said the PPP-led government had to increase prices of oil, electricity and gas to stabilise the economy. The present government has adopted prudent economic policies and stopped the fiscal deficit at 7.4 per cent, which otherwise was going to touch 9 per cent, he added.
In reply to a question about seeking financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund, Shaukat said if the government contacted IMF, the assistance will match Pakistan's own requirements. The government has abolished subsidies and is making efforts to overcome the fiscal deficit. Besides, it will ensure zero percent borrowing from the State Bank of Pakistan at the end of every quarter, he added.
Primarily the IMF, while issuing financial assistance, stresses on the same steps that the country is already taking for good governance, he said. If the government sought assistance from the IMF, it will be cheaper and sufficient to steer the country out of economic crisis, the advisor observed.
The advisor said the World Bank would provide $1.4 billion assistance to Pakistan during this year besides $500 million each will come from Asian Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank. To another question, he said there was no need to impose financial emergency in the country as the country has much potential to increase its economic growth rate.
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