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BUDGET IN FOCUS |
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Budget in focus
By Dr. Muhammad Yaqub
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 The budget for FY14 was delivered while the campaign promises of the PML-N leadership were still ringing in the ears of the nation. Since the government didn’t have the time to install a new economic management team at the technical level, it relied on the same bureaucrats that have been fudging fiscal data and, at times, issuing false budget projections. As a result, the FY14 budget is based on unrealistically optimistic projections of resource availability and includes a hotchpotch of ad hoc policy measures......
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PAKISTAN AND THE IMF |
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Pakistan and the IMF
By Abdul Wajid Rana
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 The IMF mission led by Jeffrey Franks is expected to visit Pakistan on June 19 to hold Post Programme Monitoring and Article IV discussions with the new government. And now Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said that he intends to speak to the mission about the possibility of a new loan arrangement.But before entering into a new IMF programme, it’s essential that policymakers understand the nuances of Islamabad’s relationship with the Fund.
A history
Pakistan is characterised as a “prolonged user of IMF resources.” Its relationship with the Fund can be categorised into four distinct segments. During Phase-I, from 1947 to 1971, Pakistan had two Stand By Arrangements (SBAs), in 1958 and....
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BUDGET IN FOCUS |
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Budget in focus...Towards development
By Dr Sabur Ghayur
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 With a planned budgetary allocation of Rs540 billion for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), the newly-elected government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is all set to initiate the process of economic revival. However, economic revival is linked with the timely implementation of various measures and the provincial governments building synergies with the federal government’s development programmes.
While many of us will scrutinise the budget and its implications from different angles, this write-up sees the budget from the perspective of targeting the marginalised segments of society and the promise that the budget holds to generate significant employment opportunities in the country.....
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THUMBS-UP FOR BUDGET |
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Thumbs-up for budget
By Faisal Shaji
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 The Karachi Stock Exchange-100 index soared to 22,757.7 points on the next day of Finance Minister Ishaq Darís budget 2013-14 speech. At one point, the index made a high of 22,833, which means a single-day high of 510 points.
Most people are of the opinion that the federal budget 2013-14 has favoured the wealthy class and large enterprises only, whereas the ordinary taxpayers have been burdened.
As far as the stock market is concerned, the fear pertaining to changes in the capital gains tax law of 2012 has been dispelled for the time being.....
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WOMEN |
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Women
By Amtul H. Gondal
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 Pakistan is an agrarian economy, where 63 percent of the population lives in rural areas. Since independence, the agriculture sector has played a key role in the countryís development as it contributes 21 percent to the GDP.
The agriculture sector generates employment opportunities for a considerable segment of the labour force. Almost 45 percent of the labour force belongs directly or indirectly to agriculture sector production and 60 percent of the rural population depends on this sector for its living. Hence, it plays a vital role in the provision of food, income generation, reducing poverty and the transformation towards industrialisation.....
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DEVELOPMENT |
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DEVELOPMENT
By Mansoor Raza
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 Change in Tharparkar is a Golem – a creature in Jewish mythology. It is a humanoid made of clay and water with incantations and spells. It is powerful and dangerous, and grows more so every day. Without control Golem may destroy its master. In medieval tradition, the creature of clay is animated by the Hebrew word “Emeth” (meaning ‘truth’), which is inscribed on its forehead. It is believed that truth drives the Golem. But this does not mean it understands the truth.
The Golem is used as a metaphor for the noticeable change in Tharparkar. The causes are diverse and the impact of the observable changes is profound.....
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ANALYSIS |
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INDUSTRY
By Adeel Ghayur
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 Environmentally-friendly production has been fully integrated in the recently introduced concept of eco-industrial parks/zones. An eco-industrial zone (EIZ) is basically one where industries, businesses and local community cooperate with one another, thereby reducing waste and pollution by efficiently sharing resources. All this helps to achieve sustainable development and environment friendly production of goods.
The central theme of EIZ is utilising the output of one industry as a feedstock of another. The aim here is to maximise the utilisation of waste products of each individual unit in the zone with the goal of promoting greener production of goods.....
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BUDGET IMPOSSIBLE |
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Budget impossible
By Ihtasham ul Haque
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 The PML-N government’s budget planners led by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar relied heavily on indirect taxes which will burden existing tax payers and the salaried classes besides raising inflation. Critics of the government claim that the budget was meant to favour industrialists and the landed gentry.
The new government opted for regressive taxation as a means to enhance withholding tax and turn over tax rates. A one percent increase in General Sales Tax (GST) is bound to heighten inflation and hit the middle and lower income groups hard.....
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BUDGET |
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BUDGET
By M Ali Kemal
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 The budget is an important event. Based on the budget presented, each year investors take decisions regarding investment and divestment, entrepreneurs take decisions for changes in wages and in the prices of their products, and households make their decisions for consumption and savings. In this way the total economy works in an efficient way.
People always have high expectations from the budget every year. However, irrespective of whether it is an investor, the head of a household or an entrepreneur.....
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