Published in November 03, 2020 5:29 am

He said that PSX witnessed an outstanding performance and was ranked 4th in the world.

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Affirming that the economy is being redirected back on a growth path, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Finance, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said Tuesday that there has been no increase in sovereign debt over the past four months.

“During the period from June 30 to November 1, there was a zero percent increase in the sovereign debt,” he said while accompanying Prime Minister Imran Khan in a briefing on the electricity aid package for industry.

The adviser said that this is all being done on the basis of the country’s own revenue because the government has reduced spending while revenue is on a growth path.

The adviser said that the government was successful in overcoming the Covid-19 pandemic crisis and steered the economy out of a difficult situation and that currently the majority of economic indicators are showing positive growth as shown by the latest data.

He said income had increased, exports were also growing while the industry had also returned to a positive path with the current account deficit reducing from $ 20 billion to zero.

He said that the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed an outstanding performance and was ranked 4th in the world and 1st in Asia among the most performing markets.

The adviser said that government policies are focused on the welfare of the people and therefore all steps are being taken to ensure that people find jobs and livelihoods.

He said that on the other hand, the government ensures tax taking from the wealthy, adding that they also control its spending because it cuts spending on the Prime Minister’s house and the President’s and cabinet’s house while the civilian and military government spending also decreases.

He said the government had not borrowed a cent from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) during this year while no additional grants were issued during that period. As a result, he added, the primary balance is now surplus.

He said the government was taking several steps to promote the industry and had removed taxes on imports of raw materials, saying the World Bank praised this policy and the country was ranked among the 10 countries that had introduced reforms to reduce the cost of doing business.

He said, to save the community from the negative impact of the Corona virus, the government provided an aid package of Rs. 1250 billion while 16 million people were given cash in a transparent manner.

The advisor said, for the provision of housing for low-income people, the government provided a tax break of 90 percent for the construction of small houses.

He said that spending through the safety net had also been increased from Rs100 billion to Rs192 billion while a historic package of Rs152 billion was provided for the development of the previous FATA area.

He said sufficient funds were allocated in the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) for underdeveloped regions so that they were equal to developed regions. Meanwhile, subsidies are given to five basic commodities through the Utility Stores Corporation (USC), he added.