Year: 2022

Finance Division has earmarked Rs 374 million for Power Division as provisional Indicative Budget Ceilings (IBCs) for FY 2022-23 for civil expenditure, and directed that IBCs may be prepared in accordance with budgetary allocations. Finance Division has conveyed that IBCs for grants and subsidies and development projects (if any) will be communicated separately. IBCs for the FY 2023-24 and FY 2024-25 have been estimated to be Rs 389 million and Rs 408 million, respectively. According to Finance Division, provisional IBCs for the Recurrent Budget for the coming three financial years…

Pakistan’s economic team is negotiating with the IMF for a bailout package. One of the conditions is to remove all fossil fuel subsidies which cost Pakistan almost $12 million per day. It is argued that this would help plug the widening current account deficit and also help take the climate change agenda forward. The new coalition government fears that the removal of this subsidy would adversely affect society. Climate change has become a reality. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report, 2021 warns that global temperature is driven by carbon…

oliticians and bureaucrats have shown mixed view over the fate of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), as some suggest its abolition while other recommend necessary amendments to the law to ensure transparency in the accountability process. Some senior government functionaries and a number of federal ministers have closed ranks for the abolition of NAB over its alleged use to intimidate bureaucracy, victimise political opponents and harass the business community. However, a group of top officials and cabinet members opposed shelving the graft buster and recommend to make amendment to the…

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has the potential to generate 9,000MW of hydroelectric power that will end load-shedding in Pakistan and benefit its businesses and industries, said AJK President Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry. Addressing the business community at Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) on Monday, he said that the region has huge potential for joint ventures and investment in many sectors including hydropower generation, precious stones, gems and jewellery and tourism. Chaudhry invited the business community of Islamabad to capitalise on those opportunities for achieving lucrative outcomes and…