ISLAMABAD (National Times) Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will chair a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) at the PM House today to finalise the development programme for the next financial year, The News reported on Monday.
The development programme for the current financial year will also be reviewed during the meeting which will be attended by the four provincial chief ministers as well as the representatives of the federation and provinces.
The NEC, during the meeting, is set to green light economic targets for the upcoming financial year 2024-2025, while the 13th five-year plan — 2024-2029 — will also be presented for approval.
The economic growth target for the next fiscal year is proposed to be 3.6%, the publication said while the economic growth target for the current fiscal year (2023-24) was set at 3.5%.
The average inflation target for the new fiscal year is proposed to be at 12%. The average inflation target for the current fiscal year was 21%.
A target of 2% growth for agriculture sector for new financial year is proposed. The target for agriculture for the current financial year was 3.5%.
The industrial sector growth is proposed to be 4.4% in the next financial year. The target of industrial sector was 3.4% for the current financial year. The services sector growth target in the new financial year is proposed to be set at 4.1%. The target for this sector for the current fiscal year was 3.6%. The investment target is proposed to be 14.2% of GDP. The national savings target would be at 13.3% in the next financial year.
According to sources, the federal government has prepared a five-year (2024-2029) plan for determining important economic goals. Macroeconomic framework has been made part of the plan. The federal government has decided to approve the five-year plan in the budget of next financial year. Under the five-year plan, important economic goals will be determined.
The sources said macroeconomic framework, energy, balance of payments, development budget, food and agriculture, population, poverty and governance reforms are part of the plan.
The NEC will review proposed public investment for the next financial year. The council will review the federal development programme and provincial annual development plan. It will also review development plan of state-owned enterprises and progress report of ECNEC and Central Development Working Party.
