ISLAMABAD, June 5: The defence budget of the country has been increased to Rs250 billion from outgoing fiscal year’s Rs223 billion. “We have no confusion about Pakistan’s independence and security and will make it sure that the armed forces of the country are equipped with modern weapons and all their needs are met,” Minister of State for Finance Omar Ayub Khan said in his budget speech on Monday.
He said Pakistan was a nuclear power and vowed to protect the nuclear assets of the country at every cost. He said necessary resources for the purpose would be made available. He said an invincible defence of the country was the first priority of the government.
The minister pointed out that the proportion of defence expenditure against the GDP used to be high in the days when the GDP size was small. He said economic progress had led to increase in the size of the GDP and the defence expenditure today accounted for three per cent of the GDP. He said this had enabled the government to use additional resources for progress of the country and providing relief to the masses.
An amount of Rs1,303 million has been allocated for 50 projects in the Defence Division under the Public Sector Development Programme. Of this amount, Rs637.17 million is meant for 34 new projects and Rs666.62 million for 16 ongoing projects.
The allocations under the new projects head include Rs10.40 million for constructing residential quarters at Met Colony in Karachi, Rs8.16 million for such quarters at PMD Centre in Lahore, Rs20 million for establishing a degree college in Nowshera, reconstructing the office building for CWO in Garri Dupatta, Rs12.73 million for the office building for the PBO in Muzaffarabad, Rs11.27 million for reconstructing the Met observatory in Balakot, Rs8.73 million for constructing the office building for the Met office in Okara and Rs40 million for constructing HQ MSA building in Karachi.
The allocations also include development of various departments of SUPARCO, comprising Rs80.21 million for human resource development under the National Satellite Development Programme, Rs40 million for development of composite pressure vessel, Rs59 million for development of a large Dia Rocket Motor Casing using the Marging Steel, Rs55 million for upgrading quality assurance and quality control laboratories, Rs85 million for know-how development and capacity building in satellite engineering and technology, Rs41 million for monitoring of lonoshoric and geomagnetic variations, Rs14.70 million for satellite environmental validation and testing facility (phase-I), Rs22 million for fog aerosol characterisation source apportionment and impact study, Rs10 million for development of flexible bearing and Rs50 million for upgrading the propellant testing facility.
Major allocations under the head of ongoing projects include Rs38 million for training in advance engineering and technologies, Rs29.39 million for a national centre for drought and environment monitoring and early warning, Rs111.36 million for up-gradation and strengthening of seismic network of the PMD, Rs297.49 million for Pak-Sat-I, Rs100 million for an airport in Gwadar and Rs20.39 million for automation of administration functions projects.
