The government has proposed to allocate Rs. 699 billion for giving subsidies to different sectors for providing relief to the public during the upcoming fiscal year 2022-23.
According to the budget documents, the government has proposed to increase the amount of subsidies by Rs. 17 billion to Rs. 699 billion for the next fiscal year as compared to Rs. 682 billion during the outgoing fiscal year.
The government has reduced the number of subsidies for the power sector by Rs. 26 billion to Rs. 570 billion for the next fiscal year as compared to Rs. 596 billion during the outgoing fiscal year.
Out of the total subsidy for the power sector, for PEPCO, the government proposed to increase the amount by Rs. 18 billion to Rs. 275 billion. For K-Electric, the government has proposed to reduce the subsidy amount by Rs. 5 billion to Rs. 80 billion. The government has also decreased the subsidies for Independent Power IPPs by Rs. 39 billion to Rs. 215 billion for the next fiscal year.
The government has proposed to increase the subsidy amount for petroleum by Rs. 51 billion to Rs. 71 billion. A subsidy of Rs. 17 billion has been earmarked for the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) during the next fiscal year. PASSCO will also get a subsidy of Rs. 7 billion.
An amount of Rs. 8 billion has been earmarked for wheat subsidy to Gilgit-Baltistan during the next fiscal year. The amount of subsidy for metro bus service has been increased to Rs. 4 billion for the next fiscal year. Similarly, the subsidy for fertilizer plants has been increased to Rs. 15 billion.
The new government has drastically decreased the subsidy amount of Naya Pakistan Housing & Development Authority (NAPHDA) to Rs. 500 million for the next fiscal compared to Rs. 30 billion in the outgoing fiscal year. The markup subsidy for NAPHDA has been reduced too, from Rs.3 billion to Rs. 500 million for the next fiscal year.
The government has also earmarked Rs. 6 billion for providing subsidy on the import of urea for the next fiscal year.
