ECC approves Rs2bn technical grant for Information Ministry

March 21, 2025 (MLN): The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) considered and approved a summary from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, seeking a Technical Supplementary Grant (TSG) of Rs2 billion from its allocated budget of Rs5.6bn.

This approval was granted during an ECC meeting of the Cabinet, chaired by the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb.

The grant will be used to meet the liabilities of payments for outstanding advertisement dues owed to media houses, according to the press release issued today.

The ECC further approved a proposal from the Ministry of Defence for a TSG amounting to Rs430 million for the execution of SAP schemes in the province of Punjab during the current financial year.

The Committee also approved the allocation of Rs250m as government paid-up capital for the operations of the Jinnah Medical Complex & Research Centre (JMC&RC) company.

This allocation will support the establishment of a state-of-the-art, 1,000-bed academic medical centre in Islamabad.

However, the ECC directed the JMC&RC Company to provide a detailed breakdown of the expenditures and activities to be covered by the approved Rs250m before seeking further allocations.

In addition, the ECC discussed a summary presented by the Finance Division regarding the phasing out of the State Bank of Pakistan’s long-term financing facility (LTFF) to Exim Bank.

The ECC decided that the SBP’s LTFF portfolio of Rs330bn would be phased out to the Exim Bank, with an allocation of Rs1bn through a Technical Supplementary Grant to meet the LTFF subsidy requirement for the new portfolio for FY 2025.

Finally, the ECC approved a summary from the Finance Division for a Technical Supplementary Grant of Rs24.556m. This amount is equivalent to $87,671.21 at an exchange rate of Rs280.1 per USD.

The grant was allocated to Lia Bomba of JAED Textile Pvt Ltd, Sydney, Australia, in compliance with the specific instructions of the Supreme Court of Pakistan dated 19th March 2025.

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