May 27, 2021: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Mr. Shaukat Tarin virtually chaired the meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Wednesday at the Cabinet Division.
The meeting was participated by Minister for National Food Security and Research, Minister for EAD, Minister for Maritime Affairs, Minister for planning Development and Special Initiatives, Minister of State for Finance and Revenue, SAPM on Energy, Advisor to Prime Minister on Austerity and Institutional Reforms and Chairman BoI besides Secretaries of different Ministries and Divisions.
ECC approved the Launching of 2nd Phase of EHSAAS EMERGENCY CASH PROGRAM. The second phase envisages increasing the number of regular Ehsaas Kafalat beneficiaries to 8 million by June, 2021 through the ongoing National Socio-economic Registry Survey (NSER). All these beneficiaries will be provided a 6 monthly tranche (January- June, 2021) of Rs 12000/- per beneficiary under Ehsaas Kafalat. 4 million additional beneficiaries will be identified through the ongoing NSER survey by using higher eligibility threshold while remaining below the poverty line. These additional 4 million beneficiaries will also be provided one-time emergency cash assistance of Rs.12000/- per beneficiary to compensate for unemployment caused by COVID. The disbursement process will be initiated within this financial year. The financial impact of providing assistance to these 4 million additional beneficiaries will be Rs.48 billion.
A summary was moved by Ministry of Energy (Power Division) for the payment of balance amount of Net Hydel Profits to WAPDA through Power Division / CPPA-G. ECC decided to form a Committee with members from Power Division, WAPDA and Finance Division to discuss the matter in detail and suggest a mechanism for payment of Net Hydel Projects in a timely manner without pressurizing the national exchequer.
ECC also approved the issuance of 12 different notifications for the implementation of Pakistan Single Window (PSW) Act, 2021. The Implementation of the PSW Act 2021 will significantly reduce the paper work for importers and exporters and will help boosting the trade and economic activity by providing connectivity between different government organizations and with other regional and global windows.
The following Technical Supplementary Grants were approved by the ECC.
- Rs700mn for the Aviation Division for meeting the Employee Related Expenditure (ERE) of Airport Security Force.
- Rs288.893mn for the Cabinet Division for Repairs and Purchases of 6 Aviation Squadron.
- Rs3.906bn for the Defence Division for meeting the shortfall of funds for meeting various operational expenses at Pakistan Navy Headquarters.
- Rs124.727mn for the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training for meeting the expenses of its various allied departments.
- Rs819.406mn for the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication for the development expenditure of Special Communication Organization.
- Rs400mn for the Ministry of Interior for raising a Special Security Wing at the Kartarpur Corridor.
- Rs42.897mn to the Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives for Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) for payment of pensions.
- Rs806.585mn for the Ministry of National Food Security and Research for clearing the pension liabilities of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC).
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