17 May 2004 Monday 26 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425 Budgeting for reducing poverty and inequality The Budget is an important policy document that sets forth the priorities of the government and the directions that the economy is desired to be taken towards. It has far-reaching impact on all sectors of the economy and on all sections of the population. ... How free from foreign influences will the budget be? In February 2004, the federal finance minister had spelt out growth and investment as the main targets for the next year's budget (2004-05). A GDP growth of over 5.3 per cent is expected for this fiscal year (2003-04) based on high revenue collection ... Has Pakistan begun to shine? Barring some skeptics, most people would acknowledge good performance of Pakistan's economy during the current year. Not only are numbers looking good ... Budgeting for a new era For a number of reasons, the next budget is likely to be qualitatively different from all its predecessors. To start with, for the first time in its history Pakistan will be preparing its budget in a visibly stable economic environment. ... Industrial policy: back to basics Officials of the ministry of industries and many corporate thinkers are going back to basics in order to unleash an industrial revolution restrained by recent fiscal distress. ... Pressure on budget makers for larger resources Preparing the federal budget for the new financial year appeared to be an easy task compared to the fiscal exertions of recent years. ... Building boom being held hostage The much anticipated building boom that is expected to get underway once the June budget comes through may well go bust if the cement industry continues to play dirty. With rising steel prices already hurting the building, construction and housing sectors ... Karachi budget: what is new beyond hopes? Preparations are underway to finalize the budget estimates in different tiers of government and their constituent bodies. It is interesting to note that budget-making exercises usually infuse a fresh hope that the next financial year shall be better than the outgoing one. ... Bourse asks for more tax incentives More companies are today lined up on the exit door of the Karachi Stock Exchange than at the point of entry. From 762 in the year 2000,the number of listed companies has dropped to 690. ... NFC: the problem of sharing resources A recent World Bank study comparing income disparities in a large sample of developed and under-developed countries placed Pakistan among three top countries of the world with the lowest income disparities; ... Centralism keeps Punjab on tight leash Living on federal doles, Punjab, or for that matter, any other province, always finds it hard to put the monies where the mouth is. ... Sindh ADP: unsatisfactory performance About 45 per cent of the development funds in the current fiscal year are being spent on new development schemes while 55 per cent of the funds are being spent to complete the on-going schemes. ... Balochistan budget faces crisis Balochistan felt comfortable during the three-year military rule when the provincial government faced no shortage of funds as there was a constant flow of resources during all this period. ... WB credit terms to shape NWFP budget The guidelines set under the World Bank's structural adjustment credit (SAC), envisaging budgetary support to the NWFP against the successful implementation of its three-year roll-over provincial reforms programme (PRP) ... Internal, external factors fiddling with share business Stocks recovered from early lows at the end of the week. Investors made active purchases at moderate levels aided by technical factors, and by Congress leader's positive statement on the Indo-Pakistan peace talks. ... Rupee remains under pressure The dollar is gaining strength in the local market as a result of buying by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) from interbank market. At the same time, heavy payments at the fiscal end amid short supply of dollars has pushed rupee down in the open market. ...

© The DAWN Group of Newspapers, 2004