Inclusive Growth-oriented Budget : Poor No More To Wait For Trickle-down Effect, Says Tarin

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin Saturday said the main focus of the inclusive growth-oriented federal budget for the fiscal year 2021-22 was to uplift the poor so that they would not have to wait for trickle-down effect of economic progress

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Jun, 2021 ) :Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin Saturday said the main focus of the inclusive growth-oriented federal budget for the fiscal year 2021-22 was to uplift the poor so that they would not have to wait for trickle-down effect of economic progress.

The low-income people had been waiting for that for the last 74 years, as they remained deprived of houses, health facilities and business opportunities, he said while addressing the post-budget press conference.

The government, he said, was now directly targeting the poorest of the poor and facilitating them with different initiatives to upgrade their living standards without waiting for trickle-down effect, and for that around 20 years of stable economic growth was required.

The minister said it was not an easy task, however, he was thankful to Almighty Allah for giving the incumbent government the vision to work for the poor.

The government, he said, through the budget would utilize the 'bottom-up-approach' for improving the living conditions of around 6 million low-income households.

He said under the initiative, every household would be provided Rs 500,000 interest-free business loan. Every farming household would be given interest free loan of Rs 150,000 loan for every crop, interest fee farming loan of Rs 250,000 and interest free loan of Rs 200,000 for buying tractor and agricultural implements.

Tarin said low-interest bearing housing loans of up to Rs 2 million would be provided to help the people buy houses, besides Sehat Card to every household to facilitate them in time of need.

Moreover, one person from every household would be imparted free technical training to ensure employability so that the family earned respectable income, he added.

The government, he said, did not have room to provide all such loans. The commercial banks would be involved, which would provide wholesale financing, while government would be providing guarantees for loan recovery.

The minister said the identification of the poorest households would be done through a non-political survey all across the country. "We will not play politics with the poor," he added.

Tarin said after achieving economic stability, the government was following a comprehensive strategy to lead the country towards sustainable growth.

The government's Primary focus in that regard, he said, was to promote exports and take their volume from 8 percent at present to 20 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). There was dire need to enhance exports for economic sustainability, he stressed .

The minister said for the first time, a growth-oriented budget was presented, including innovative measures to enhance revenue collection, expansion of incentives for exporters and abolishing duty on local industry, including automobile sector.

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