Govt to save Rs70bn annually through 100 reforms across 24 ministries

ISLAMABAD: The government will save over Rs70 billion from introducing and implementing 100 reforms in 24 ministries and departments per annum.

This was stated by the officials in a briefing to the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan who chaired the meeting on Modernization of Companies Act 2017 of Sub-committee by SAPM Haroon Akhtar khan.

The meeting was informed that through 29 reforms in pharmaceutical and medical devices an estimated amount of Rs17.81 billion would be saved, through 17 reforms in agriculture market Rs6.56 billion, Rs1.91 billion through eight reforms in logistics and transportation, and Rs43.74 billion through 46 reforms in cross cutting.

The meeting stressing the need for moderation of Companies Act-2017 said that there are only 523 listed companies in Pakistan, 2,500 unlisted and 252,321 registered companies, while in USA, there are 33.2 million registered companies and in Canada, 1.3 million registered companies.

The meeting was informed that these reforms would result in saving a total Rs250.5 billion to national kitty, of which, Rs1,787 billion by modernisation of Companies Act-2017 and regulatory reforms will save Rs73.6 billion.

The meeting was attended by Scott Jacobs, representatives from the Board of Investment (BoI), Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), and the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce (OICC).

The participants held detailed discussions on regulatory reforms and the modernisation of the Companies Act 2017. Haroon Akhtar Khan stressed the need for simplifying the registration process of unlisted companies, noting that delays, excessive regulation, and the lack of ease in doing business have become serious challenges for the business community.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025