The prime minister also said that the exports of Pakistan had witnessed a quick increase during COVID-19 especially in the subcontinent.
Radio Pakistan –
Prime Minister Imran Khan has offered an exclusive package for the industries in Pakistan through which they will be consuming electricity at reduced rates.
Talking about the package in the capital city on Tuesday, he said small and medium industries will utilize extra electricity on 50 percent cheaper rates from November 2020 till June 30, 2021.
The prime minister said that along with small and medium industries, big industrial units will also get additional electricity at 25 percent reduced rates for the next three years.
He added that previous governments had signed expensive electricity deals due to which the industrial units consume electricity at higher rates that ultimately ends up in low quality products.
With this decision, the production cost would be low and exports would also go up attracting more wealth to the country, he said adding that with the help of effective government policies, cement, motorcycles, and cars have seen a huge growth in their sales while construction sector was also making fast progress.
The prime minister also said that the exports of Pakistan had witnessed a quick increase during COVID-19 especially in the subcontinent.
He also urged the people to adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to avoid the spread of the coronavirus.
Minister for Power Division Omar Ayub also spoke on the occasion and said that Pakistan’s 70 percent electricity was being generated with the help of imported fuel while PTI government had planned to produce country’s 70 to 80 percent electricity on our own with the help of solar, wind, coal, and hydel projects.
Specking on the occasion, Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar said that the government had been making all out efforts to minimize the cost of products in the country and the approval of slashed power tariff in the country is a continuation of those efforts.
He also said that despite corona factor the country’s growth rate is at positive side, when the whole world is experiencing minus 4 percent growth rate.
At the occasion, Minister for Planning Asad Umar talked about the economic situation after corona episode and said that Pakistan’s strategy to impose smart lockdown brought favourable results and the whole world praised the efforts done by Pakistan. He said that now again it was the main concern of the government to support the industry and to protect the public from the negative effects of COVID-19.
Talking about the economic indicators in Pakistan, Finance Advisor Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh said that the economy of the country was stable because of the brave decisions taken by the government.
He added that above 1000 billion rupees tax was collected in last four months while 90 percent tax exemption was given to the construction industry.
The trade deficit had come to zero from Rs 120 billion while the amount for Ehsaas Programme had been increased from Rs 100 billion to Rs 192 billion, he said adding that FATA’s merged areas were being given Rs 152 billion.
He also said that Rs 5,000 billion were repaid without taking any new loan during June to November this year.
