The federal government has utilised only 54% of its revised development outlay of Rs1.096 trillion, spending Rs0.593 trillion in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year.Â
As the fiscal year nears its end on June 30, 2025, the government is set to allocate Rs1 trillion for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) in the upcoming 2025-26 budget.
According to a news report, the SDGs Achievement Programme, which is exclusively for the treasury benches, has utilized 71% of its revised allocation, amounting to Rs35 billion against the Rs48 billion allocated for the programme in the current fiscal year.
Despite the overall slow pace of fund utilisation, with just 54% of development funds spent so far, the government is finalising the next PSDP with an allocation of Rs1 trillion, significantly below the ministries’ demand of Rs3 trillion.Â
The Planning Ministry had proposed increasing the PSDP allocation to Rs1.6 trillion to complete ongoing projects, but the final allocation has been set at Rs1 trillion. Initially, the Finance Ministry had given an indicative budget ceiling of Rs0.921 trillion, which was later raised to Rs1 trillion for the next budget.
In the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, the government sanctioned Rs0.64 trillion for development spending, with Rs0.47 trillion allocated to the rupee component. The foreign exchange component was set at Rs226 billion, with Rs0.123 trillion utilized so far. Sources indicate that the slow release of funds in the first half of the fiscal year contributed to the lack of momentum in development schemes.
With only one month remaining in the fiscal year, it remains uncertain how much of the remaining development funds will be utilized by June 30, 2025.
