Budget 2017-18: Government employees get good news of previous adhoc reliefs merger in basic pay
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An incentive and relief laden federal budget with a total outlay of 5,310 billion rupees has been announced for the next fiscal year.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar presented budgetary proposals for the next year in the National Assembly session in Islamabad on Friday.
The resource availability during next year has been estimated at 4,681.2 billion rupees and net revenue receipts at 2,926 billion rupees. Tax collection by FBR is estimated at 4,013 billion rupees.
The provincial share in federal taxes is estimated at 2,384.2 billion rupees, which is 11.6 percent higher than the budget estimates of the outgoing fiscal year.
The external receipts during next year are estimated at 837.8 billion rupees. The budget envisages defense allocations of over 920 billion rupees.
The budget envisages merger of fifty percent ad hoc relief allowance granted to civil employees and ad hoc allowances of 2009 and 2010 for personnel of armed forces with the salary and ten percent ad hoc relief allowance on the basic salary after merger. Zarb-e-Azb allowance for armed forces personnel will be in addition to this.
The Minister announced ten percent increase in pensions.
Minimum wages have been increased from the existing 14000 to fifteen thousand per month.
Several allowances of different categories of employees have also been increased. These include sixty percent increase in daily allowance rate, enhancement of orderly allowance from 12000 to 14000 rupees, increase in the rate of burial grant from 1600 to 4800 and from 5000 to 15000 rupees; constant Attendant Allowance from 3000 to 7000 rupees and fifty percent increase in design allowance.
Batman allowance and Hardlying Pay for Pakistan Navy and different allowance of Pakistan Post have also been increased.
Personnel of Frontier Constabulary would get a fixed monthly allowance of eight thousand rupees irrespective of their deployment in any part of the country.
The finance minister said the government will bear an additional burden of 125 billion rupees because of relief to government employees.
The finance minister announced launching of a new national saving scheme for the welfare of family members of martyrs.
Under this scheme, heirs of martyrs of Pakistan Army, police and other security institutions will get an extra profit.
Pakistan Savings will bring their branches online and introduce ATM cards and mobile and internet banking for the benefit of its customers.
The budget of Pakistan Baitul Maal would be increased from the existing 4 to 6 billion rupees.
