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Economy sweels to US$ 160 Billion |
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| Economy swells to $160bn: Salman |  | | | ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is among the fastest growing economies in the world as its economy has reached the size of $160 billion from a mere $70 billion a few years earlier, Federal Advisor on Finance Dr Salman Shah said on Tuesday.
Talking to PTV, he said a national consensus should be evolved for not disturbing vibrant policies of any past government in a bid to ensure the country’s development.
ìEvery political party should pledge that good policies of past governments will not be discontinued,î he said.
Pakistan attracted a record investment of $6 billion last year. The volume of economy is increasing. According to a labour survey, five million new jobs were created last year, while investment to GDP ratio was 23.5 percent.
The economy, he said, has come out of the Selective Default (SD) in 1999 to B-1. The target is to improve the ratings further up to AAA and take the debt to GDP ratio to 20 per cent.
It was 100 in 1999. Now it is at 50 percent. The share of the income of middle class from total income of the country has increased to 56 percent, up from 46 percent recorded in recent years, he said.
While the share of bottom 20 percent population has increased from 5 to 12.5 percent, indicating that income is flowing towards middle and lower class as compared to upper class. From 1999 to 2007 only agriculture production remained 10 times high. A bumper wheat crop of 23.5 million tonnes was harvested this year.
He said the leading investment bank Goldsman Sach has reckoned Pakistan one of the largest economies of the world in the coming years. The country has the fourth largest workforce in the world. Pensions and salaries would be increased in the coming budget more than the ratio of inflation. Subsidy would be offered on food items and oil.
He said currently inflation ratio is around 7.5 percent and the salaries would be enhanced more than that. Old pensioners would be provided comparatively more increase.
Employment schemes would be announced in the budget with subsidies on mark-up. Small development schemes would be encouraged in villages aiming to make them self-sufficient. ‘Aik Hunar Aik Nagar’ programme would be initiated in far-flung areas to develop handicrafts, food processing, and home-made industries, he said.
The FATA Development Authority has been established to expedite development in backward areas. All basic amenities would be provided to the countryís far-flung areas.
The network of First Women Bank would be expanded aiming to provide adequate opportunities to women entrepreneurs. The concept of a Reconstruction Opportunity Zone (ROZES) is being developed for allowing duty-free export of their products to the USA |
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