ECC approves grants worth nealry Rs3tr for Finance Division

June 27, 2025 (MLN): The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet approved major Technical Supplementary Grants (TSGs) worth Rs829.67 billion and Rs1.774 trillion for the Finance Division.

These grants are allocated for the repayment of domestic debt and foreign loan repayments, respectively.

The approvals were made during the ECC meeting chaired by Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, as per the press release issued.

The committee reviewed and approved several TSGs to support the cost of ongoing projects and initiatives across various ministries and divisions for the current financial year 2024–25.

Among the key decisions, the ECC considered a summary from the Finance Division for the launch of a risk coverage scheme targeting small farmers and under-served areas.

The committee gave in-principle approval to the proposal, instructing further refinement and the inclusion of additional safeguards before its scheduled launch on 14 August 2025.

It was informed that the scheme could potentially bring 750,000 new agricultural borrowers into the formal financial system and generate an incremental credit portfolio of Rs300bn over three years from FY26 to FY28.

The estimated budgetary requirement for the scheme, covering risk and operational costs for banks, stands at Rs37.5bn, spread across FY27 to FY31.

In addition, the ECC approved an Rs15.839bn TSG for the Ministry of Defence to address shortfalls in admissible pay and allowances, both employee-related and non-employee-related expenditures, and to clear outstanding dues under the Prime Minister’s Package for martyrs of the recent Pak-India war.

Furthermore, an Rs5.5bn TSG was approved for the Strategic Plans Division as rupee cover for the Pakistan Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) during the current fiscal year.

The Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Control also received significant allocations.

These included Rs1.765bn to meet operational requirements and clear pending liabilities of the Frontier Corps KP (North and South) and Frontier Corps Balochistan (North & South).

Another Rs300 million was approved to clear liabilities under various Heads of Account of the ICT Police.

The ECC also sanctioned Rs198m for the repair and maintenance of the Executive Building in Islamabad.

Additionally, Rs100m each was allocated for clearing vendor liabilities related to law and order services in ICT and for operational costs of Frontier Corps KP (North), while Rs52.241m was approved to enhance investigation equipment and infrastructure at ICT Police stations.

The Finance Division was granted Rs254.57m for onward release to the Government of Balochistan as part of an incentive package for PAS/PSP officers posted there, and another Rs63m to address shortfalls in unavoidable rent expenditures for the Department of the Auditor General of Pakistan.

Other approvals included Rs117.97m for the Petroleum Division to fund the PSDP project titled ‘Expansion & Up-gradation of Pakistan Petroleum Corehouse’ and Rs100m for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to cover expenses under the “Other Delegation Abroad” account during FY2024–25.