The National Economic Council (NEC) has made revisions to the development budget, increasing the allocation for the Sustainable Development Goals Achievement Program (SAP) for parliamentarians from Rs50 billion to Rs70 billion for the upcoming fiscal year.
Initially, the proposed allocation for the SAP program was set at Rs50 billion, in line with recommendations made by the Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) last week.
However, the NEC decided to boost the funding by an additional Rs20 billion. For the current fiscal year ending on June 30, 2025, the SAP program had an allocation of Rs50 billion.
In contrast, the allocation for the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has been reduced from the previously proposed Rs45 billion, as recommended by the APCC.
Amid ongoing tensions with India over water issues, the government has proposed an allocation of Rs147.8 billion for the water sector in the next budget. This includes Rs35 billion set aside specifically for the Diamer-Basha Dam project.
The total allocation for the water sector is broken down into Rs96 billion in rupees and Rs51.7 billion in foreign exchange. Additionally, Rs20 billion has been earmarked for the Dasu hydropower project in the upcoming fiscal year.
