Finance Minister chairs meeting to roll out preparation of next budget

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Friday chaired a meeting to roll out the preparation of next year's Budget at the Finance Ministry here.
Dr. Waqar Masood, Finance Secretary gave a detailed presentation on the next budget.
The Finance Minister expressed satisfaction on fiscal results for the first eight months of the current year which showed a deficit of 3.2pc as compared to the proportionate target up to February of 3.5%.
He stressed the need for continued vigilance on expenditure in line with revenue receipts so that the budgetary targets are achieved without fail.
Commenting on the preparatory exercise presented in the meeting, the Finance Minister emphasized that austerity will continue to remain the hallmark of PML-N's budget strategy and fiscal management.
He further underlined the need for clear and meaningful indications of budgetary ceilings to all federal ministries and for Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) so that they can prioritize and formulate their expenditure proposals well in time.