ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said on Friday notwithstanding eight big inherited challenges, the government's polices brought about macroeconomic stability, reduced inflation, maintained fiscal discipline, created jobs, doubled revenues and bolstered the vulnerable segments of  society.

He said the government has focused on a sound monetary policy to bring down the inflation rate and ensure fiscal discipline by taking austerity measures.

The inflation rate has been reduced from 25 per cent in 2008 to 9 per cent in 2012, which he described as a great achievement of the government.

On the other hand, the government implemented fiscal discipline in that as compared to the 10-11 per cent increase in inflation rate, the federal government expenditures have gone up by just 6 per cent while that of the provinces increased by 21 per cent.

These expenditures included defence, payback loans and civil government expenditures, which he said remained stagnant at Rs. 200 billion.

Giving details about the performance of revenue collection system, the federal minister said that tax collection has more than doubled, from Rs 1000 billion to Rs 2300 billion, during the past four and a half years.