ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said the government would give special attention on the agriculture sector and provide relief to farmers in the agri inputs in order to reduce their cost of production to boost agriculture production and save them from the international commodities prices crash.
The minister further said that government in the budget would also take steps for revival of the industrial sector in order to boost exports for the benefit of the country. The minister informed that in the year 2017-18, 10,000 MW electricity would be added in the national grid.
He said the government would also give to priority to three sectors of energy, infrastructure and human resources development. He added that universities funding would be enhanced from Rs 20 billion to Rs 24 billion during the financial year 2016-17 while the funding for Higher Education Commission (HEC) would also increase from Rs.20 billion to Rs.21 billion bedsides establishing universities at FATA, Balochistan and Gilgit Baltistan.
He also informed that every district campuses of universities would be established in order to provide higher education to the youth of the country at their door steps. He added that in next ten year the number of PhDs would be increased from 350 in 2010 to 10,000 under US-Pak Knowledge Corridor in the country.
Highlighting the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2016-17, the minister said, Rs 655 billion have been allocated as compared to Rs.580 billion earmarked in the outgoing financial year 2015-16. The minister said the government had earmarked Rs 1,675 billion in the forthcoming budget for the development schemes under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the year 2016-17.
“Out of the total allocation, Rs 875 have been earmarked for the provinces,” he said. Giving the details, he said, Rs 468 billion were allocated for infrastructure including Rs.157 billion for power, Rs.260 billion for transport and communications, Rs 33 billion for water, Rs.18 billion for Physical Planning and Housing.
Out Rs 89 billion allocated for social sector, Rs 29 billion were earmarked for Education including Higher Education Commission (HEC), Rs.30 billion for Health and Population, Rs.20 billion for Sustainable Development Goals Program and Rs.10 billion for other Social sectors, he added.
The minister said, Rs.9 billion were allocated for Science and IT, Rs 8 billion for Governance, Rs 42 billion for Special Areas including AJK, FATA and Gilgit-Baltistan respectively. He said, out of Rs.4 billion for Production, Rs 2 billion each were earmarked for industries and Food and Agriculture sectors.
He said, Rs 28 billion were earmarked for special federal development program under PSDP. He said development projects worth $30 billion out of US$ 46 billion to be initiated under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework across the country, had become live.
“The financing of these projects either completed or in the process of completion,” he said. He said it was unprecedented that a piece of paper – Memorandum of Understanding – was converted into portfolio of $46 billion within short span of time. Terming CPEC a unique gift for the people of Pakistan, he said, different early harvest energy projects were being completed to meet electricity shortage and informed that mining at Thar Coal site had been started.
He said the electricity generation would start from Thar coal in 2018-19, adding, “Thar coal deposit would be sufficient for next 400 years if 5,000 MW per annum electricity is generated from Thar coal.” He said the Pakistan-China leadership and people of both the brotherly countries had complete faith in this project and they had expressed unflinching resolve to complete CPEC within stipulated time.
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