Murad Ali Shah presents Rs1.24 trillion provincial budget for financial year 2020-21 with a deficit of Rs18.38 billion.

KARACHI -- Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah presented on Wednesday a Rs1.24 trillion provincial budget for the financial year 2020-21 with a deficit of Rs18.38 billion.

The budget session began under Speaker Assembly Agha Siraj Hussian Durrani, where Shah, who also holds the portfolio for provincial finance minister, started presenting the outlay.

The chief minister said that the total outlay of budget 2020-21 was Rs1.24 trillion with Rs18.38 billion deficit. He added that the non-development expenditure was estimated at Rs968.99 billion while the development expenditure was estimated at Rs232.94 billion and the capital expenditure was estimated at Rs39.19 billion.

According to the CM, total receipts were estimated to be Rs1.22 trillion - federal receipts at Rs760.30 billion (65 percent), provincial receipts at Rs313.39 billion (26.8 percent), capital receipts at Rs25 billion (2.1 percent) and other receipts at (FPA and PSDP) Rs69.05 billion (5.9 percent).

Murad Ali Shah told the House that that no new tax has been introduced in budget 2020-21 and the increase in non-development expenditure is restricted to only seven percent.

Shah further explained that the increase in non-development expenditure was mainly due to provision of 'Covid-related pro-poor' Social Protection and Economic Sustainability package of Rs34.2 billion and a rise of Rs19 billion in the health sector and Rs22.9 billion in the education sector.

He added that austerity measures from the non-development budget have created space for the development budget. He further elaborated that the overall federal receipts are reduced by Rs71.72 billion which constituted nine percent of the current financial year 2019-20.

'The overall provincial receipts are estimated at Rs313.4 billion which is nine percent higher than current financial year,' he stated.

'Despite a pandemic challenge, economic slowdown and sluggish revenue targets, the Sindh government has introduced in budget 2020-21 Covid-related pro-poor Social Protection and Economic Sustainability Initiatives worth Rs34.2 billion.

The key sectors include social welfare, agriculture, industries and investment.

The chief minister announced that Rs3 billion were earmarked for poverty alleviation programme for small business in the urban areas, Rs2 billion proposed for poverty alleviation programme for small farmers in rural areas, Rs20 billion is estimated for cash transfer under the `Sindh Peoples Support Programme'.

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