Sindh unveils 'July 1-September 30' budget

The Sindh government on Thursday presented a deficit budget with a total outlay of Rs 1.14 trillion for the next fiscal year 2018-19, higher by 9 percent, with no new taxes and sought its authorization for only first three months until September 30, 2018.
In a budget speech, Chief Minister Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, who also holds the portfolio of the Sindh Finance Minister, told the Sindh Assembly that it is a Rs 20 billion deficit budget. He said the government will seek the budget approval from the house for only first three months of the next fiscal year - from July 1 until September 30, 2018.
He said the budget envisages no new taxes for the next financial year, informing the legislators that he will also not introduce the Finance Bill 2018. "This year we are requesting this house to authorize expenditure for only three months from 1st July to 30th September 2018," he said, announcing an increase of 10 percent in the basic salaries of all government employees and pensioners for the next financial year.
Total receipts of the province for the continuing financial year 2017-18 (FY18) were estimated at Rs 1.029 trillion. The estimated expenditure was Rs 1.043 trillion. The budget estimates of receipts for the next fiscal year 2018-19 (FY19) are Rs 1.124 trillion, which is 9 percent higher than the revenues of the current financial year.
Receipts from the Federal Government on account of revenue assignment, straight transfers and grants are estimated at Rs 665.1 billion. Receipts from the Federal Government are 59.2 percent of the total provincial revenues. Receipts of the Federal PSDP are estimated at Rs 15 billion.
Similarly, receipts under the heads of Foreign Project Assistance, budgetary support loans and grants are estimated at Rs 46.9 billion. Receipts from province's own sources including tax and non-tax revenues are estimated at Rs 243 billion.
Expenditure outlay of the budget is estimated at Rs 1.144 trillion as against budgetary estimate of Rs 1.043 trillion of the current fiscal year, showing an increase of 9 percent. The current expenditure including current revenue expenditure of Rs 773.2 billion and current capital expenditure of Rs 27.1 billion stands at Rs 800.3 billion. For the next financial year, the current expenditure constitutes 69.9 percent of the total provincial budget.
Estimates of development expenditure for the financial year 2018-19 are pitched at Rs 344 billion. According to him, Sindh has witnessed a decade of sustainable development. As the overall expenditures for the next fiscal year are Rs 1.144 trillion as against the receipts of Rs 1.124 trillion, the budget depicts a Rs 20 billion of deficit.
Syed Murad Ali Shah said the government has earmarked a grant of Rs 750 million for the religious monitories, higher from Rs 500 million, "which is to be used for financial assistance, medical treatment, scholarships and repair/renovation of religious places of minorities".
The government has allocated Rs 3.4 billion for the development of Livestock and Fisheries Department for 2018-19 to increase milk and meat production, expansion of livestock and poultry vaccination program and health cover, establishment and upgrading of veterinary centers and artificial insemination centers and private fish farms and export of its products, research in feed, seed and breed improvement.
The allocation, the chief minister said, will also cover livestock and poultry vaccination production and founding of Marine and Fresh water fisheries research Centre, Corporate Farming in Livestock, Poultry and Fisheries., he said.
The government proposes to extend a financial subsidy of Rs 9.650 billion to farmers for tractors, agricultural implements, solar pumps and tube-wells etc in the next fiscal year. Research, he said, will continue to develop new varieties, for production of hybrid seeds for different crops. Years of research have helped to augment cotton production by 21 percent; wheat 51 percent; rice 45 percent; sugarcane 13 percent; mango 6 percent, and okra 34 percent, he said.