Finance minister addresses NA on budget FY27

Finance Minister Muhammad Auranzgeb is currently addressing the National Assembly on matters pertaining to the proposed budget for FY27.

His address follows the NA’s discussions earlier in the day on 140 recommendations made by the Senate on the budget.

Aurangzeb noted that a privilege motion had been moved by Khawaja Sheraz Mehmood and Azimuddin Zahid, which contended that the budget document had discrepancies.

He added that questions were raised on the GDP growth, the per capita income and their methodology.

The minister explained that the real GDP growth was calculated after adjusting for changes in economic activities and their impact on prices.

“This is why the 3.7pc GDP growth reported by PBS (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics) has been calculated on the constant prices of base year FY15-26,” he said, adding that it was an international standard from a methodology perspective.

The finance czar then elaborated that the nominal GDP, which is calculated on current market prices, differed from the real GDP in “both concept and measurement”.

More to follow