Summary Finance Minister Ishaq Dar says country missed almost all targets in different sectors of economy.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Presenting the Economic Survey 2012-13 Tueasday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said growth rate remained low because of loadshedding and lack of investment in private and public sectors.
He said the new government would pursue economic targets with an aggressive approach.
He lamented that local industrialist had shifted to Malaysia, Korea Indonesia and other countries because of the sense of insecurity in the country.
Ishaq said Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif was fully determined to put the country’s economy on track, adding PM was personally supervising the economic reforms.
“There is no economic discipline in the country at the present,” he said, adding terrorism would automatically come to an end with economic development.
“Foreign debts have risen to 14,000 billion rupees,” he said.
“The menace of circular debt would the hardest to overcome but we are determined to find a solution to the problem,” he said.
Dar informed that the GDP remained lower than the target set for 2012-13.
Economic Survey‚ a pre-budget document‚ released in Islamabad on Tuesday afternoon says the GDP growth rate for the outgoing year would remain at 3.6% as against the targeted 4.3%.
Launching the Survey at a news conference‚ Minister for Finance Senator Ishaq Dar said average GDP growth rate during the last 5 years remained at 3 %‚ which is pathetic in view of 2.1% population growth.
He said the previous PML-N government touched the figure of 7% GDP growth rate and it is their resolve to take it back to the same level in the intermediate term.
The Minister said the country missed almost all the targets in different sectors of the economy.
There would be a shortfall of 350 billion rupees in the FBR tax collection target of 2381 billion for the outgoing year.
The target for investment was 14.9% but the country is likely to achieve 14.2% by the close of the year.
Foreign inflows were projects at 1.8 billion dollars but these remained 800 million dollars.
Budgetary deficit was targeted at 4.7 percent but it would be around 8.5%.
The Finance Minister said the agriculture sector grew by 3.3% as against the target of 4.1% and the services sector 3.7% as against the targeted 4.3%.
Large-scale manufacturing however was positive as its growth is expected to be 2.8% as against 2% target for the year.
Investment to GDP was targeted at 13.3% but it would be 12.6% for the year. National Savings also showed an upward trend as the growth rate was 13.5% as against 12.8%.
Ishaq Dar said circular debt has assumed alarming proportions as it has crossed 500 billion ruppees despite injection of 1400 billion by the government as subsidies during the last about five years.
He said an aggressive plan has been prepared to take the issue of circular debt head on and it would be eliminated within sixty days.
He said as of today 6.2 billion dollars worth of foreign exchange reserves are with the State Bank besides those with the commercial banks.
The Finance Minister said a road map has been prepared for economic revival as economy is as big a challenge as terrorism.
He said licenses for 3-G spectrum of mobile phone would be auctioned in a transparent manner so that the mobile industry grows further creating more employment opportunities.
The Minister said tax net would be expanded and appealed to all citizens to pay their due taxes. He said currently tax to GDP ratio is 8.9%‚ which is on the lowest side.
He said GDP growth rate for the next financial year has been fixed at 4.4% and 1155 billion rupees would be spent on development.
