LAHORE: Provincial Finance Minister Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman presented the province’s budget for the year 2024-25 showing no new taxes.
The government announced to increase the salaries of its employees by 20 to 25pc and pension by 15pc. The government will launch an undergraduate scholarship program worth Rs2.5 billion in the province.
The minister said the budget featured Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s plans for the welfare of children, working women, special persons, and transgender community, as well as welfare programmes for minorities.
In his budget speech in Punjab Assembly, the minister said the chief minister was going to launch various welfare initiative during the next financial year.
He said the Chief Minister’s Schools Meal Programme will be launched with an allocation of Rs1 billion aimed at mental and physical growth of children; daycare centres will be established across Punjab for children of working women at a cost of Rs1 billion while Chief Minister Skill Development Programme worth Rs1 billion will facilitate the transgender community and Minority Development Fund would be established with Rs2.5 billion.
Similarly, Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research would be built in Lahore on which Rs56 billion would be spent. A sum of Rs8.84 billion will be spent on construction of Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cardiology Sargodha, Rs450 million allocated for launching of air ambulance service.
The budget envisaged no new taxes and the minister said that poor segment of society would be provided subsidies on food and other items.
He said consumers using up to 100 units of electricity would be provided solar panels free of cost. Moreover, minimum wage has been increased from Rs32,000 to Rs37,000.
Earlier, the provincial cabinet at a meeting chaired by the chief minister approved the Rs5,446 billion budget for the fiscal year 2024-25.
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