The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the federal cabinet has approved Rs. 31 billion in supplementary grants for the Defence Ministry.
In this regard, the Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar, presided over a cabinet meeting where the approval for the supplementary grants was given.
According to a formal statement, the ECC approved the additional funds for the Ministry of Housing and Works  (MoHW) and the Defence Division totaling Rs. 1 billion and Rs. 30.89 billion, respectively, for unspecified expenditures.
In addition, several other things have also been cleared, including an out-of-court settlement with three defaulting oil and gas enterprises namely, Dewan Petroleum, Petroleum Exploration Limited (PEL), and Oil and Gas Investment Limited (OGIL).
Furthermore, ECC has also approved changes to the Import Policy Order, 2022, for importing the Holy Quran in order to ensure accurate printing, publication, and recording of the Holy Book.
Besides, approval for increasing the maximum retail price (MRP) of paracetamol by 25.6 percent and 12 percent for liquid paracetamol has also been granted.
The development after the Finance Minister promised pharmaceutical companies of a price hike on Wednesday. It is worth noting that GlaxoSmithKline, one of the country’s major paracetamol manufacturers, suspended the production of the over-the-counter (OTC) drug owing to the extra-ordinary inflation in the country and the government’s reluctance to allow a price hike.
