The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has sanctioned approximately Rs 272 billion in technical supplementary grants (TSGs) for the fiscal year 2023-24.
This move is in line with the government’s financial management practices and does not indicate an increase in overall government expenditure.
A technical supplementary grant involves reallocating funds from one budget area to another, without increasing the total budget.
This differs from regular supplementary grants, which involve increasing the allocated budget.
The decision adheres to the commitments made to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP).
The coalition government led by Mian Shehbaz Sharif assured in the MEFP dated July 18, 2023, that it would not authorize supplementary grants for unbudgeted spending over the parliamentary approved level in the fiscal year 2024, barring emergency responses to severe natural disasters.
This commitment was reaffirmed by the caretaker government in the latest MEFP released on January 19, 2024.
Key approvals by the ECC include a grant of Rs 484 million on October 23, 2023, for the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) to cover salaries of contract and project employees.
This was followed by a grant of Rs 47.45 million on November 10, 2023, for the Ministry of Interior for repair and maintenance activities.
On the same date, a Rs 5 billion grant was approved for the Digital Information Infrastructure project under the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunication.
The ECC, on November 15, 2023, also approved Rs 423.726 million for the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) for its Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) projects. Furthermore, on December 20, 2023, the Power Division received an approval for Rs 262.075 billion to support public sector power plants.
In the latest round of approvals on January 9, 2024, the ECC sanctioned Rs 250 million for the Intelligence Bureau’s upgradation and technical enhancement, Rs 3,568.719 million for the Federal Directorate of Immunization (FDI), and Rs 100 million for the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination.
These allocations are part of the government’s ongoing efforts to manage its fiscal responsibilities while adhering to its commitments to international financial institutions and maintaining the budgetary discipline mandated by parliament.
It’s great to see the government taking steps to ensure that the economy remains stable and that the country continues to progress. The allocation of funds for technical supplementary grants will help to ensure that the government can continue to provide essential services to its citizens 1.
I hope that the government will continue to make decisions that are in the best interests of the people and that will help to promote economic growth and development in the country
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