Islamabad, June 10, 2023: Finance Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Saturday expressed strong confidence in the government’s ability to achieve the targeted 3.5 percent growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the fiscal year 2023-24.
The minister attributed this optimism to the effective and transparent utilization of the significant development funds allocated for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2023-24.
During the conference, Minister Ishaq Dar emphasized the importance of implementing the PSDP appropriately and ensuring complete transparency in investment decisions to facilitate the easy achievement of the GDP growth target.
READ MORE: NCCPL Authorized to Collect Super Tax on Capital Gains
He stated that the government had set a modest goal and believed that if the PSDP funds were judiciously invested, the 3.5 percent growth could potentially be surpassed.
Notably, the government has allocated a historic amount of Rs1150 billion for development funds under the PSDP, which is almost double the funds utilized in the previous fiscal year (2022-23).
The finance minister compared this allocation to the record-high Rs1 trillion PSDP budget presented in 2017-18, highlighting the government’s commitment to national development and its efforts to place the economy on a consistent growth trajectory.
READ MORE: Finance Bill 2023 Proposes Reduced Tax Rates on Additional Advances for IT Sector
Minister Ishaq Dar also addressed the perceived realism of the GDP growth target. He mentioned that international financial and rating institutions such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank (WB), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bloomberg, Fitch, and Standard and Poor (S&P) have projected various growth rates ranging from 2 percent to 4 percent.
He emphasized that the target of 3.5 percent was not unrealistic and that the government’s professional calculations indicated it was achievable.
In conclusion, the Finance Minister’s remarks highlighted the government’s confidence in achieving the 3.5 percent GDP growth target through the effective and transparent utilization of the allocated development funds.
The emphasis on implementing the PSDP wisely and the comparison with international projections underlined the government’s commitment to economic progress and stability.
READ MORE: Government Introduces 1% Minimum Tax Rate for PSX Listed Companies
