The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has approved Rs1.7 billion to settle pending liabilities of the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) under the Prime Minister’s Relief Package. However, no additional budget was sanctioned for the Ramazan relief package for FY2024-25.
The ECC meeting, chaired by Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb, also reviewed and approved several other proposals and grants across key sectors.
According to the Finance Ministry, the ECC reviewed a request from the Ministry of Industries to extend the Prime Minister’s Relief Package through USC for the current fiscal year. The approved funds will cover expenses incurred by the Utility Stores Corporation between June 30 and August 18, 2024, with the condition that the subsidy is part of the allocated budget and no further expenditures are carried forward beyond this period.
The federal cabinet has decided that USC will either be privatised or wound up, with potential alternatives such as cash transfers for underprivileged recipients under consideration.
Separately, the ECC approved an additional Rs2.5 billion budget for the Ministry of Information to implement 15 projects under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) during FY2024-25. The funds were diverted from another project to meet this requirement.
The government had initially allocated Rs6.3 billion to the Ministry of Information for PSDP projects for the ongoing fiscal year. The additional allocation underscores the ECC’s focus on ensuring the timely execution of development initiatives while addressing financial constraints.
