Taking part in the NA Budget session, the Finance Minister said that the agriculture sector is the backbone of the rural economy ,where 63 percent of Pakistanis are living and there is a huge need to provide relief measures for the agriculture sector to create more employment opportunities and growth in the rural economy.
He said that the government has allocated additional Rs 25 billion for the growth of the agriculture sector.
The government has also provided more relief to agri-industry and supports the people for development of modern agri-industrial base to enhance the export in the sector.
He said the government has also decided to grant Rs 300,000 loans to each farmer annually in both cropping seasons.
The Finance Minister said that the housing sector was a major focus of the government and “we are providing easy loans to the people on lower interest rates for growth in the housing sector.
He informed that the government has also awarded the relocation of Chinese industry and said that “we are negotiating with Chinese government in this regard to achieve our share in expected 85000 new jobs from this opportunity.
The game changer China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) maga project is also a major focus of the government, he said adding that Special Economic Zones related the CPEC would play the role of catalyst for the modernization of the industrial sector of the country.
He said the government has also decided to boost the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Rs 10 billion loans would be provided to SMEs with 9 percent interest.
He said that Information Technology (IT) sectors have achieved huge growth and the government has also decided to provide tax incentives to the industry after the negotiation with different stakeholders.
He expected up to $ 8 billion export in the coming year in case the IT sector grows 50 percent a year in the country.
Shaukat Tarin said the government also committed to reduce the Circular Debt through minimizing the line losses and recovery of utility bills in next two years.
He said the government has also increased the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) by 40 percent to Rs 900 billion for the coming Budget 2021-22 as compared to the previous FY 2020-21.
Announcing the relief measure in the coming Budget 2021-22, he said that through ‘Ehsaas Program’, Rs 260 billion was announced for providing relief to the low income people including widows, orphans and scholarship for the student.
He said that through this program health card and skills development programs are also initiated for capacity building to get opportunities of employment.
He said the government is also committed to providing socio- economic justice to the people to attain the dream of the ‘Madina State’.