ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik said on Tuesday that a Rs 50 billion energy subsidy package for low-income households has been announced for those consuming less than 200 units of electricity. The minister said there were 86 percent households which consume less than 200 units of electricity.
“Therefore the prime minister retained the last year’s power tariff for these households,” he added.
The minister said that Rs 600 billion had been earmarked for the poor under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).
Up to 200 units of consumption: PM Shehbaz announces Rs50bn power subsidy for 25mn households
He informed that development projects worth Rs 1,200 billion had been introduced in the recently passed budget.
The minister said that the country’s stock exchange had shown a bullish trend during the last few months.
The minister said, last year, the country’s growth had plummeted to zero, while now it had risen to 2.4 percent.
“After 19 years, 6.3 percent growth rate has been recorded in the agriculture sector,” he said, adding that for the first time in the country’s history, a record increase had been recorded in the sale of tractors.
Musadik said that the rate of inflation which last year stood at 38 percent had now nosedived to just 12 percent. Musadik said all that PTI wanted was the country to stop developing and that there should be hopelessness all around.
Criticising the PTI leader Omar Ayub’s press conference on capacity payment agreements with IPPs inked during PML-N government, he said he (Omar Ayub) as cabinet member was also signatory of the agreement in 2013.
Musadik Malik further said that it was unfortunate that political differences in the country had now turned into animosities.
He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had three priorities in mind; first to provide jobs to the youth; second to create a business-friendly environment, and third to overcome inflation and poverty.
Similarly, he went on to say, that rates of food items had dropped from 40 percent to two percent. “I don’t say that there is no inflation in the country. But at least it has reduced.” Referring to recent Fitch Ratings, he said that even the world had started acknowledging that the country was going to become economically stable.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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