Budget 2024-25: NEC meeting underway to finalise development programmes

ISLAMABAD: A National Economic Council (NEC) meeting is underway in Islamabad under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to finalise the development programmes for the next financial year and approve the 13th five-year plan for 2024-2029.

The NEC, during the meeting, is set to green light economic targets for the upcoming financial year 2024-25.

The huddle will also approve the development programmes for the provinces as well as government companies and will further review the performance reports of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) and Central Development Working Party (CDWP) from May 16, 2023, to May 15, 2024.

As reported by The News, the economic growth target for the next fiscal year is proposed to be 3.6%, the publication said, while the economic growth target for the current fiscal year (2023-24) was set at 3.5%.

The average inflation target for the new fiscal year is proposed to be at 12% while average inflation target for the current fiscal year was 21%.

A target of 2% growth for agriculture sector for new financial year is proposed. The target for agriculture for the current financial year was 3.5%.

The industrial sector growth is proposed to be 4.4% in the next financial year while target of industrial sector was 3.4% for the current financial year. The services sector growth target in the new financial year is proposed to be set at 4.1%. The target for this sector for the current fiscal year was 3.6%. The investment target is proposed to be 14.2% of GDP. The national savings target would be at 13.3% in the next financial year.

According to sources, the federal government has prepared a five-year (2024-2029) plan for determining important economic goals. Macroeconomic framework has been made part of the plan. The federal government has decided to approve the five-year plan in the budget of next financial year under which important economic goals will be determined.

The sources said macroeconomic framework, energy, balance of payments, development budget, food and agriculture, population, poverty and governance reforms are part of the plan.

The NEC will review proposed public investment for the next financial year. The council will review the federal development programme, provincial annual development plan, development plan of state-owned enterprises and progress report of ECNEC and Central Development.