The Government of Pakistan will provide a subsidy of Rs. 131 billion on food, agriculture, electricity, and RLNG, under Building Resilience with Active Countercyclical Expenditures (BRACE) Programm, sources told ProPakistani.
Of the $2.4 billion BRACE program, the government will provide Rs. 71 billion for food security/agriculture subsidy, while Rs. 60 billion subsidies will be paid for RLNG and electricity, an official source told ProPakistani.
It is worth mentioning here that Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) are jointly providing a loan of $2 billion to partially fund Pakistan’s BRACE program. The total existing cost of the government’s counter-cyclical measure is around $2.4 billion.
The government countercyclical development expenditure program aims to ensure social protection, enhance food security and support employment amidst raising international commodity prices and the devastation caused by floods.
Under food security, a subsidy of Rs. 71 billion will be disbursed to poor people and farmers through various channels. Under the food security program, Rs. 17 billion will be provided to Utility Store Corporation, Rs. 7 billion to PASSCO, Rs. 15 billion as a Fertilizer Plant Subsidy, Rs. 6 billion subsidies for the import of fertilizer, Rs. 16 billion as sales tax exemptions on import of seeds and tractors and Rs. 10 billion for agriculture relief initiatives, added the source.
For the subsidy on the provision of RLNG, Rs. 40 billion will be provided, while for electricity subsidy Rs. 20 billion will be provided.
