By: Rafique Ahmed Qureshi
Before becoming Prime Minister, Imran Khan had a great vision for prioritizing human security in policy making and implementation. He has allocated a share for human security, which is an adequate sum as compared to the previous governments. National security has also been given the required attention as the lion’s share is allocated for traditional security, and another larger chunk would be invested in the development sectoRs The opposition alleged that this ‘budget is imposed by the IMF’, and it is linked with unjustified taxation (indirect taxation), inflation, primary deficit, and faltering subsidies for public sectoRs The economy was lagging in the region. The Pakistani economy has taken a V-turn under the leadership of Imran Khan.
First and foremost, the government’s Ehsaas programme, ‘reduction in inflation and price control and monitoring’, Kamyab Jawan and Kissan Programme, and an amount of Rs 155 billion for mitigation of socio-economic impacts of the covid-19 pandemic are a few initiatives for sustaining human security. The World Bank recognized the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme as “amongst the top four social protection interventions in the world in terms of numbers of people covered.” The budget allocated for the Ehsaas programmes is Rs 203 billion and it covers over 15 million families. On average each of the family gets only Rs 12,000, which is an unprecedented act by the government to uplift the downtrodden. But the government is encouraged to invest more in poverty mitigation. Further, the government increased the minimum wage to Rs 20,000. A ten percent increment in salaries and pensions are roposed in the budget.
The PTI government has been investing more and more on human security in the form of Ehsaas programmes, subsidies for public sectors, and interest-free loans for farmers and people who are interested in having their own businesses. Additionally, Imran Khan’s ecosystem-friendly policies, Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme, are crucial to discuss. He has enhanced education budget from Rs 29 billion to 42 billion rupees in FY22
Likewise, these following amounts the government has reserved for environmental protection (Rs 436 million), food and health security (Rs 12,017 and Rs 28,352), education (Rs 42,450), Bait-ul-Maal (Rs 4,200), “Anti-Rape Fund” (Rs 100), human rights (Rs 279), research, and for poverty alleviation and social safety (Rs 599). As an illustration, the government allocated 2.135 trillion for the Public Sector Development Programme, which was increased by 37 percent as compared to previous year.
On the other hand, Imran Khan’s role for environmental rehabilitation is commendable. When his party made the government in KP, he initiated the Billion Tree Tsunami for green Pakistan. Thus, now the central government under his leadership is investing more and more in the environment. According to the Climate Risk Index, Pakistan is one of the most affected countries in the world. Apart from environmental security, the government is also, somehow, prioritizing other aspects of human security.
Similarly, increasing subsidization for the public sector is bliss for the poor. The government has increased public sector subsidies from Rs 209,000 million to Rs 682,000 million. These subsidies are reserved for fuel: natural gas and furnace oil. Despite the fact, oil and gas prices are expected to increase by 260 percent during Fiscal Year 2021-22. This increment in prices would ultimately bring a storm of inflation in the country. Prices of all commodities are directly linked to the fuel price. If it goes up, basic commodities’ prices would surely increase. The Finance Minister said that the government wants to keep the inflation rate at 8.2 percent for FY22, which is higher than that of the previous year, 6.5 percent.
Additionally, the government would provide interest-free loans for establishing businesses. People can take Rs 500,000 interest-free loans for businesses and Rs 2 million for house-loans. Meanwhile, farmers can get Rs 150,000 interest-free loan for farms and Rs 200,000 for leasing tractors and other farm-related equipment. These measures not only empower the poor segment of society but also end poverty slowly and gradually. According to the Prime Minister that the aim is to create jobs and houses for the poor. And the Finance Minister says that the salaried class is exempted from new taxes on one hand. On the other hand, federal excise duty is reduced from 17 percent to 16 percent in FY22.
Unfortunately, Pakistan spends the lowest in the region as far as education and health are concerned. Unlike Pakistan, India and Bangladesh invest more on health and education. Indian ‘union budget’ is declared as a paradigm shift because it has invested more on education and health. India has allocated Ind Rs 350,000 million for the covid-19 vaccination. By contrast, Pakistan allocated Rs 5000 million for covid-19 and other natural calamities.
In a nutshell, the PTI government has been investing more and more on human security in the form of Ehsaas programmes, subsidies for public sectors, and interest-free loans for farmers and people who are interested in having their own businesses. Additionally, Imran Khan’s ecosystem-friendly policies, Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme, are crucial to discuss. He has enhanced education budget from Rs 29 billion to 42 billion rupees in FY22.
Read the original op-ed at
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2021/06/27/human-security-and-the-budget/
Courtesy: Pakistan Today
