The Economic Survey of Pakistan 2023-24, the pre-budget document, containing the details of major socio-economic achievements during the outgoing fiscal year 2023-24, will be launched on Tuesday (today).

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb will launch the pre-budget document, according to a press release issued by the Finance Ministry on Monday.

The Economic Survey will provide details about the major socio-economic developments, performance, and trends of various sectors of the economy, including agriculture, manufacturing & industry, services, energy, information technology & telecom, capital markets, health, education, transport and communication etc.

Annual trends of major economic indicators regarding inflation, trade and payments, public debt, population, employment, climate change, and social protections will also be described in detail in the survey.

According to the Planning Commission’s estimations made in the Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC), Pakistan’s economy “faced significant challenges at the beginning of 2023-24, primarily due to lagged impacts of economic disruptions of the previous year.” But the economy moderately recovered in 2023-24 and grew by 2.4%.

In the years 2023-24, the primary driver of growth was the agriculture sector, growing by 6.3%, owing to bumper outputs of wheat, cotton and rice.

The industrial sector grew by 1.2% mainly due to a slowdown in large-scale manufacturing activities. There was growth in mining and quarrying, small-scale manufacturing, and construction.

The services sector also registered 1.2% growth as wholesale and retail trade experienced a mere 0.3% growth. The transport, storage and communications sector also recorded a low growth of 1.2% due to subdued demand.

Total revenue collection grew by 41% during July-March 2023-24 that outpaced the 36.6% growth of total expenditure. Both tax and non-tax revenues grew by 29.3% and 89.8%, respectively. Markup expenditure constituted 40% of the total expenditure.

During July-April 2023-24, average inflation was recorded at 26% as compared to 28.2% in the same period of last year. A continuously declining inflationary trend has been observed since January 2024.

NEC approves five-year national development plan

The National Economic Council approved on Monday the five-year National Development Plan alongside approving the annual economic growth targets for the financial year 2024-25 and macroeconomic framework for the annual plan.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif presided over the NEC meeting in Islamabad. Officials said that the key objectives of the plan include “development of every part of the country especially the less developed areas,” increase in exports, promotion of the small and medium industry, social protection and poverty alleviation, increase in the capacity building of the work force, and a framework to protect from the impacts of climate change.

The NEC directed the planning ministry to ensure the positive role of the provinces in the national economy and to present a comprehensive framework to increase the country’s exports. The council also called for including the provinces in the consultation process to achieve the overall economic growth target of the country.

The prime minister emphasised that the government would ensure the “best utilization” of the existing resource for revival of the economy and prosperity of the people. He further said that in all important decisions regarding the economy, the federation “would ensure consultation with the provinces and other stakeholders” so that as a result of the collective vision for the development of the country, such decisions were made that were positive and involved the consent of all.

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“The National Economic Council is the biggest forum for important decisions regarding the country’s economy, which will be used for important decisions for the recovery of the economy,” he added.

The prime minister also directed the council to set up a committee which in consultation with the provinces and other stakeholders, should formulate the proposals to not only make the council active but also to harmonise it with the modern requirements.