ISLAMABAD - The government Tuesday claimed overall 6.7 per cent reduction in poverty from 32.1 per cent in 2001 to 25.4 per cent in 2005.
This was observed in the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting held here under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
The NEC was also told that Punjab and Sindh had decided to lift ban on recruitment related to development projects. The step was intended to speed up utilization of funds allocated under Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
Besides, the government projected GDP growth target of 6.5 per cent to 7 per cent during the current fiscal year.
The Planning Commission in its summary on Feb 16, 2005 had projected GDP growth at 6.4 per cent.
The government expects that the per capita income will be increased up to $825 by the end of year 2005-06. The NEC also approved salient features of 2030 vision for Pakistan in order to achieve improvement in education, health, justice system, governance, institutions and increasing tax to GDP ratio.
According to preliminary estimates prepared by the Poverty Centre in Planning Commission on the basis of Pakistan Social Living Standards Measurement Survey (PSLM) conducted by the Statistics Division, the government has released figures related to poverty reduction on the basis of calorie intakes of 2,350.
In 2001, the government had decided to reduce calorie intakes from 2,550 to 2,350 in order to show desired figures of prevalence of poverty.
ââ¬ÅNow, we have not changed calorie intake of 2,350 for conducting analysis,ââ¬Â an official affiliated with Poverty Centre told The Nation here Tuesday.
Asked about parameters for preparing initial estimates on the basis of data collected by FBS during PSLM survey, the official said it was just a rough estimate and the Centre would take one month for giving detailed analysis. This analysis, he said, would be conducted in collaboration with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, DFID and other stakeholders.
However, quoting the findings of PSLM survey, the prime minister told the participants of NEC meeting that overall poverty in the country had gone down from 32.1 per cent in 2001 to 25.4 per cent in 2005. Urban poverty has reduced from 22.7 per cent in 2001 to 17.2 per cent in 2005 and rural poverty has decreased from 39 per cent in 2001 to 31.8 per cent in 2005. This reflects broad-based and widespread impact of economic growth and structural reforms, said the officials.
Chairing the NEC meeting, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said that overall poverty in the country had declined by 6.7 per cent, unemployment rate for the current year fallen to 6.8pc, the expected GDP growth is in the range of 6.5 to 7pc in FY 2006. He said the additional fiscal space created mainly due to better revenue collection and debt management had allowed the government to increase development expenditure and the development spending today was all times high.
The prime minister said that economic growth, driven by manufacturing and services, was expected to maintain its momentum despite the tragic loss of life and large-scale destruction by the earthquake that hit Northern Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and spike in oil prices surging to $70 a barrel.
The government is expecting GDP growth close to 6.5-7pc in FY06, well within the targeted growth of 6 to 8pc, he said.
Addressing a press conference after the NEC meeting, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Dr Akram Sheikh said the PSDP spending stood at Rs 52.8 billion in July-Dec period of the current fiscal against released money of Rs 64.5 billion.
There are total 1,512 development projects with total estimated cost of Rs 1.734 trillion, he said. The development activity has started picking up but implementation needs further improvement.
He said the Planning Commission would expand training facilities for Project Directors in order to ensure timely completion of development projects which would help national exchequer for escalation of cost-related to projects in case of delays.
He also said that the NEC condemned blasphemous caricatures of Prophet (PBUH) published by the European newspapers. He said collective GDP of all Muslims countries had been estimated at $1400b while GDP of France alone was over $1600b and only slogans would not serve our purpose.
Repeatedly asked about credibility of official figures, which was also referred by Asian Development Bank during a recent media briefing, Dr Akram Sheikh said the government was serious in giving autonomy to Statistic Division that would help for obtaining reliable data.
Earlier, during the NEC meeting, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz asked the provinces to ensure timely implementation on development projects for avoiding escalation in their cost. He said the government would provide electricity to 13,000 villages during the current fiscal year.
The prime minister also said that President General Pervez Musharraf would inaugurate construction of Bhasha dam by end of March 2006.
The NEC was informed that the government would spend Rs 400 billion for construction of road networks by 2012.
NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani told the NEC that bird flu cases had been detected in the province and they had destroyed all chickens in those poultry farms. The NWFP government has sealed those poultry farms and deputed police there as safety measures.
Sindh Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim asked the government to construct motorway on Sukkur-Karachi highway besides demanding supply of gas in rural parts of the province.
Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi asked the federal government to release funds related to drought mitigation plan. Punjab also asked the government to allow exports of 0.3m ton wheat, lying with the province.
This was observed in the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting held here under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
The NEC was also told that Punjab and Sindh had decided to lift ban on recruitment related to development projects. The step was intended to speed up utilization of funds allocated under Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
Besides, the government projected GDP growth target of 6.5 per cent to 7 per cent during the current fiscal year.
The Planning Commission in its summary on Feb 16, 2005 had projected GDP growth at 6.4 per cent.
The government expects that the per capita income will be increased up to $825 by the end of year 2005-06. The NEC also approved salient features of 2030 vision for Pakistan in order to achieve improvement in education, health, justice system, governance, institutions and increasing tax to GDP ratio.
According to preliminary estimates prepared by the Poverty Centre in Planning Commission on the basis of Pakistan Social Living Standards Measurement Survey (PSLM) conducted by the Statistics Division, the government has released figures related to poverty reduction on the basis of calorie intakes of 2,350.
In 2001, the government had decided to reduce calorie intakes from 2,550 to 2,350 in order to show desired figures of prevalence of poverty.
ââ¬ÅNow, we have not changed calorie intake of 2,350 for conducting analysis,ââ¬Â an official affiliated with Poverty Centre told The Nation here Tuesday.
Asked about parameters for preparing initial estimates on the basis of data collected by FBS during PSLM survey, the official said it was just a rough estimate and the Centre would take one month for giving detailed analysis. This analysis, he said, would be conducted in collaboration with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, DFID and other stakeholders.
However, quoting the findings of PSLM survey, the prime minister told the participants of NEC meeting that overall poverty in the country had gone down from 32.1 per cent in 2001 to 25.4 per cent in 2005. Urban poverty has reduced from 22.7 per cent in 2001 to 17.2 per cent in 2005 and rural poverty has decreased from 39 per cent in 2001 to 31.8 per cent in 2005. This reflects broad-based and widespread impact of economic growth and structural reforms, said the officials.
Chairing the NEC meeting, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said that overall poverty in the country had declined by 6.7 per cent, unemployment rate for the current year fallen to 6.8pc, the expected GDP growth is in the range of 6.5 to 7pc in FY 2006. He said the additional fiscal space created mainly due to better revenue collection and debt management had allowed the government to increase development expenditure and the development spending today was all times high.
The prime minister said that economic growth, driven by manufacturing and services, was expected to maintain its momentum despite the tragic loss of life and large-scale destruction by the earthquake that hit Northern Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and spike in oil prices surging to $70 a barrel.
The government is expecting GDP growth close to 6.5-7pc in FY06, well within the targeted growth of 6 to 8pc, he said.
Addressing a press conference after the NEC meeting, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Dr Akram Sheikh said the PSDP spending stood at Rs 52.8 billion in July-Dec period of the current fiscal against released money of Rs 64.5 billion.
There are total 1,512 development projects with total estimated cost of Rs 1.734 trillion, he said. The development activity has started picking up but implementation needs further improvement.
He said the Planning Commission would expand training facilities for Project Directors in order to ensure timely completion of development projects which would help national exchequer for escalation of cost-related to projects in case of delays.
He also said that the NEC condemned blasphemous caricatures of Prophet (PBUH) published by the European newspapers. He said collective GDP of all Muslims countries had been estimated at $1400b while GDP of France alone was over $1600b and only slogans would not serve our purpose.
Repeatedly asked about credibility of official figures, which was also referred by Asian Development Bank during a recent media briefing, Dr Akram Sheikh said the government was serious in giving autonomy to Statistic Division that would help for obtaining reliable data.
Earlier, during the NEC meeting, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz asked the provinces to ensure timely implementation on development projects for avoiding escalation in their cost. He said the government would provide electricity to 13,000 villages during the current fiscal year.
The prime minister also said that President General Pervez Musharraf would inaugurate construction of Bhasha dam by end of March 2006.
The NEC was informed that the government would spend Rs 400 billion for construction of road networks by 2012.
NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani told the NEC that bird flu cases had been detected in the province and they had destroyed all chickens in those poultry farms. The NWFP government has sealed those poultry farms and deputed police there as safety measures.
Sindh Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim asked the government to construct motorway on Sukkur-Karachi highway besides demanding supply of gas in rural parts of the province.
Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi asked the federal government to release funds related to drought mitigation plan. Punjab also asked the government to allow exports of 0.3m ton wheat, lying with the province.
