
In a first, Centre gives projects to Sindh
In a first incidence, the federal government has assigned the Sindh government to set up urology and kidney hospitals in the Rawalpindi and Rahim Yar Khan.
While addressing a cabinet meeting at the CM House, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah revealed that the federal government has approved Rs9 billion for the establishment of Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplant (SIUT) in Rahim Yar Khan and Rawalpindi, the reconstruction of flood-affected houses in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and the establishment of SZABIST and IBA institutes.
Prevention of Road Accidents
The cabinet also approved amendments to vehicle regulation laws, aimed at enhancing road safety and compliance.
Heavy vehicles will now incur a registration fee of 0.50% based on their invoice value, alongside an annual tax of Rs1,000, and a transfer fee of Rs2,000, covering the new smart card and number plate.
Further, all commercial vehicles operating in Sindh must obtain fitness certification, with non-compliance fines of Rs10,000, while substandard rickshaws and loaders face a complete ban.
There are also restrictions on permits for older vehicles, alongside banning those over 20 years old on interprovincial routes, and those over 25 years on intercity routes.
CM welcomes promotion of Gen Asim Munir to Field Marshal
CM Murad has warmly welcomed the promotion of Syed Asim Munir to the rank of Field Marshal, extending his heartfelt congratulations on this prestigious honor.
In a statement, CM Murad Shah praised Army Chief Asim Munir's undefeated strategic acumen, which, according to him, forced India to surrender within hours. He emphasized that honoring those who instill fear in the hearts of enemies is a tradition of vibrant and resilient nations.
Shah described the decisive victory in the battle of truth as a testament to General Asim Munir's unparalleled leadership.
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Express Tribune
9 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Provinces demand NFC, agri tax review
The National Economic Council on Wednesday approved an enlarged national development outlay of Rs3.9 trillion, as some of the provinces have demanded reviewing the National Finance Commission and reopening the agriculture income tax issue with the International Monetary Fund. The NEC-approved the federal Public Sector Development Programme 2025-26 shows the government's political priorities to appease allies and spend more on roads. It approved reduced budgets for Pakistan's space and atomic energy programmes, health and education but increased allocations for the Sindh-specific projects and the parliamentarians' schemes. Headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the NEC also set the economic growth target at 4.2% and inflation at 7.5% for the next fiscal year 2025-26. The NEC is the nation's constitutional body having mandate to approve the macroeconomic and development plans. The NEC also expressed concerns over growing population and showed resolve to find a solution, as the economic growth in this fiscal year was almost equal to the population growth rate. The NEC approved the Rs1 trillion for the federal Public Sector Development Programme and Rs2.9 trillion for the provincial annual development plans. The cumulative budgets of Rs3.9 trillion negate the harsh fiscal ground realities, as the federal government even went to the extent of further reducing some critical proposed allocations to make room for more politically oriented development spending. As against its earlier plan to allocate Rs50 billion for discretionary spending on the parliamentarians schemes, the allocation has been approved at Rs70 billion, showed the NEC document. Not only that, the federal government further increased the spending on provinces' development project from three-day old allocation of Rs93.4 billion to nearly Rs106 billion. The room has been created by further reducing the spending on health and education from the level approved by the Annual Plan Coordination Committee on Monday. The Higher Education Commission's allocation is drastically reduced to Rs39.4 billion whereas the Ministry of health's budget is cut to Rs14.3 billion. To make room for political projects, the allocation for power sector projects was reduced from the earlier proposed Rs104 billion to Rs90 billion. But the water sector allocation has been increased to Rs133 billion, from earlier proposed Rs119 billion. Compared to the budget approved by the APCC on Monday, the Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission's (SUPARCO) budget has been reduced from Rs24.2 billion to just Rs5.4 billon while the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission's budget is reduced from Rs4.7 billion to Rs781 million. The budget has been finalised by a committee comprising Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and PM's political Advisor Rana Sannuallah Khan. Such large allocations for the provincial projects are in breach of commitments to the IMF for reducing federal expense on provincial projects. The sources said that some of the NEC members discussed the low agriculture sector growth of mere 0.6% in this fiscal year and urged to change the economic policies, including high cost of inputs. The participants of the meeting said that Sindh asked to review the agriculture income tax and take it up with the IMF. Finance Secretary Imdad Ullah Bosal did not comment on the question whether the Ministry of Finance will take up the matter with the IMF. The four provincial governments have passed the new agriculture income tax laws but these have not yet been enforced. There is high chance that the IMF would not entertain any such request. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government took up the issue of delay in reopening the NFC award, as the provincial government is demanding higher share in the light of merger of the tribal districts. The prime minister assured the K-P government to convene the NFC meeting in August. However, the government has further reduced the K-P merged districts allocation from Rs70 billion to Rs65.4 billion that had been approved by the APCC on Monday. The Punjab government raised the issue of higher taxes on agriculture machinery. The NEC approved Rs2.86 trillion for the four provincial governments, with the highest spending outlay of Punjab worth Rs1.2 trillion. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa will spend Rs417 billion. Sindh government plans to spend Rs995 billion and the Balochistan government is proposing Rs280 billion for development. The proposed development allocations by the four provinces are roughly Rs860 billion more than what the IMF has included in its plan. It means either the provinces will not be able to spend the entire allocations or the IMF cash surplus target will not be met. The NEC also reviewed the implementation of the annual plan for this fiscal and approved the economic targets for the next fiscal. It also took a review of the implementation of the PSDP for the current fiscal year, taking note of low utilization of the funds. The NEC also discussed the progress report of the CDWP & schemes approved by CDWP and ECNEC in the past one year. The NEC authorized the publication of 13th Five Year Plan 2024-29 and approved the URAAN Pakistan Implementation Framework. Exports are projected at $35.3 billion, while foreign remittances are expected to exceed $39.4 billion in the next fiscal year. Imports are projected at $65.2 billion with the current account deficit estimated at $2.1 billion for the next fiscal year. Currently, 1,071 development projects with a total cost of Rs13.4 trillion are under implementation. These projects require an additional Rs10.2 trillion to be completed, and the planning ministry estimates it would take more than a decade to finish them all. The NEC also approved to publish the Five-year economic plan 2024-29. The NEC was told that 13th Five-Year Plan has been updated as a result of stakeholders' consultations and is ready for publication the five year's plan is aimed at a balanced regional and equitable development, enhance export orientation of the economy - vibrant SMEs sector - social protection and poverty alleviation - improve the quality of human resources - moving into the knowledge economy - adaptation and mitigation strategy to combat climate change. The Prime Minister had launched 'URAAN Pakistan' on 31st December, 2024 and the NEC on Wednesday approved its implementation framework.


Express Tribune
10 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Govt decides to tighten solar net metering rules
Listen to article The government has decided to tighten regulations for solar net metering users in a second attempt, after the first one faced a strong backlash and was blocked by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Under the new plan, the government will abolish the zero-bill facility for solar net metering by introducing various measures. Additionally, consumers will be allowed a sanctioned load of 1.0x, down from the current load of 1.5x. This means they will be forced to switch to hybrid solar systems by using lithium batteries. Under the current net metering system, the consumers share electricity with power distribution companies (DISCOs) at a buyback rate of Rs27 per unit. However, as part of the new plan, the government is seeking to end this electricity sharing system and DISCOs will pay only Rs10 per unit to the rooftop solar owners who have a net metering system. Experts believe this will lead to an additional expenditure of $1 billion on the import of lithium batteries every year. The plan was discussed during a meeting held between different stakeholders and power ministry officials. Power Division minister chaired the huddle. The Power Division has proposed several measures that will kill the spirit of net metering. According to the proposed plan, the concept of net metering has been abolished and a new concept of net billing with a revised buyback rate is being introduced. This means there will be no exchange of electricity units; rather DISCOs will pay a reduced buyback rate of Rs10 to consumers instead of the existing Rs27 per unit. At present, DISCOs offer a credit billing facility on a quarterly basis, which is being abolished. In its place, a cash facility will be available for the excess electricity exported to the national grid by the solar meter owners and the time period has been reduced to a monthly basis. However, no change has been proposed in the categories of consumers as commercial, domestic and all other consumers will be eligible to take benefit of the new policy. The contract period for a licence has been reduced from seven years to five years. Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Energy Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, in a statement, said that the government was not abolishing the net metering policy, but was considering changing its current mechanism to a more effective, transparent and sustainable model. He recalled that in 2017-18 he himself played a key role in introducing net metering and at that time the system was in its infancy. "Now, the scope of net metering has expanded and it is having a serious impact on the grid, which must be addressed in a timely manner." He stressed that the government did not intend to harm any consumer or business, but all decisions were being taken while keeping in mind the national interest and long-term sustainability of the energy system. "If we mention the purchase of units, then this is also being considered and there is talk of bringing it to the energy purchase price, so that the system automatically adjusts with fluctuations in rates. All these suggestions are under consideration," the minister said. He pointed out that if the payback period for net metering customers was about three years or less, it would be suitable for any investment. "If a customer is consuming 40% of the electricity himself, the return of money in three years is an acceptable business model. These reforms are not a deterrent, but a step towards a better, balanced and sustainable system," he added. During the meeting, the energy minister presented a comprehensive outline of the ongoing energy reforms. In this regard, the government has eliminated 9,000 megawatts of expensive and unnecessary projects, which were a burden on the system. He said that a levy was imposed on the captive power consumers to bring them back to the grid, which resulted in an increase in electricity demand. Since June 2024, the cross-subsidy given to the industry has reached Rs174 billion, which has reduced industrial tariffs by 31% and caused a significant rise in industrial consumption.


Business Recorder
10 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Development projects across federal, provincial levels: NEC makes over Rs4 trillion FY26 allocation
ISLAMABAD: National Economic Council (NEC) on Wednesday approved the Annual Development Plan and the National Development Budget for the fiscal year 2025-2026, allocating a total of Rs4.224 trillion for development projects across federal and provincial levels. The NEC meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, sanctioned Rs1 trillion for federal projects and Rs2.869 trillion for provincial development schemes. During the meeting, the officials presented revised economic indicators for fiscal year 2024-2025, forecasting annual spending of Rs3.483 trillion on the national development programme, with Rs1.1 trillion allocated to the federal government and Rs2.383 trillion to provinces. The council approved a Gross National Product (GNP) growth rate of 2.7 per cent for 2024-2025 and projected a 4.2 per cent increase for the next fiscal year. From July 2024 to April 2025, remittances rose by 30.9 per cent, and Pakistan's current account balance was positive for the first time, according to the briefing. The fiscal deficit narrowed to 2.6 per cent of GNP in 2024-2025, while the primary balance increased to 3 per cent of GNP. The policy rate was gradually reduced to 11 percent and loans to the private sector for development rose to Rs681 billion from July 2024 to May 2025. The GNP size for 2024-2025 is estimated at Rs114 trillion. The NEC also approved the macroeconomic framework and targets for 2025-2026 and directed ministries, provinces, and government agencies to collaborate with the Planning and Development Ministry to achieve the development plan's goals, prioritising health, education, infrastructure, water, and housing sectors. A report on the Central Development Working Party (CDWP)'s progress from April 2024 to March 2025 was presented, along with details of projects approved by CDWP and the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) during that period. The council approved the 13th Five-Year Plan (2024-2029) and the Uraan Pakistan framework, noting their alignment. A third-party monitoring report on the Annual National Development Programme projects was reviewed, and future planning will incorporate its recommendations. Prime Minister Sharif congratulated participants on Pakistan's victory in the May 10 'Bunyanum Marsoos,' attributing the success to the Armed Forces' professionalism and bravery. He condemned India's recent hostile narrative, describing it as a threat to regional peace and security. 'The people of Pakistan are fully united against India for the protection of national integrity,' Sharif said, rejecting India's threats to Pakistan's water resources as unacceptable. He vowed to defend these resources following the 'Bunyanum Marsoos.' In a special meeting with the four provincial chief ministers, PM Sharif emphasised joint efforts between the federation and provinces to develop a strategy to protect water resources amid Indian aggression. The prime minister highlighted the role of recent federal-provincial cooperation in achieving economic stability and called attention to agriculture as key to boosting foreign exchange earnings and growth. Strategies are being developed to gradually increase agricultural production. The NEC, unanimously, approved its six-point agenda. PM Sharif thanked members for consensus on national matters, describing it as essential for Pakistan's future. The meeting included Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Prime Minister's Adviser Rana Sanaullah, and the four chief ministers – Maryam Nawaz (Punjab), Syed Murad Ali Shah (Sindh), Ali Amin Gandapur (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa), and Nawab Sarfraz Bugti (Balochistan). Copyright Business Recorder, 2025