The Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) has approved a federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) of Rs1,221 billion for the next fiscal year and set a growth target of 3.6%.
The growth outlook depends on political stability, exchange rate conditions, macroeconomic stabilization under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, and anticipated global oil and commodity price declines.
The APCC meeting, chaired by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Dr. Jahanzeb and attended by officials from federal ministries, provincial governments, and the State Bank of Pakistan, outlined the growth targets.
The targets are based on a 2% growth in the agriculture sector, 4.4% in the industrial sector, and 4.1% in the services sector.
Provincial governments were requested to share information regarding their annual development plans (ADPs), including sectoral breakdowns for the 2024-25 budget estimates. Punjab and Sindh reported their ADPs at Rs700 billion and Rs763.7 billion, respectively.
On the other hand, the federal government has reduced the PSDP allocation for the ongoing fiscal year 2023-24 by Rs204 billion.
According to a news report, a 30% cut (Rs184 billion) was made to the PSDP to maintain the primary budget balance, reducing the PSDP 2023-24 size to Rs746 billion from the original Rs950 billion allocation. Additionally, Rs20 billion was diverted to non-development expenses during the year.
The PSDP utilisation up to 30th May 2024 stood at Rs379 billion, comprising Rs331 billion from the rupee component and Rs48 billion from foreign aid.
The National Economic Council (NEC) on June 6 2023 approved a Federal PSDP 2023-24 size of Rs950 billion, including Rs75 billion in foreign aid. An additional Rs200 billion (non-budgeted) was targeted through PPP mode.
