PM determined to bring ease in lives of poor
ISLAMABAD – Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin on Monday said that Prime Minister Imran Khan is determined to bring ease in the lives of the poor in Pakistan and multi-pronged approach is being followed for this purpose.
He made these remarks while chairing a meeting of the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) held at the Finance Division. He briefed the participants of the meeting that different schemes and incentives have been rolled out and many more are on the cards to uplift the lives of common people. The recently presented federal budget 2021-2022 is practical manifestation of pro-poor approach of the government. All departments and organisations should contribute to uplift lives of the under privileged. Prices of commodities of daily use have direct impact on lives of common people.
National Price Monitoring Committee is a forum which is actively monitoring the prices of essential items and ensuring its smooth supply. The difference between wholesale and retail prices of essential items is not only huge but also varies across different cities which require thorough analysis. The meeting was attended by SAPM on Finance and Revenue, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, Secretary Finance Division, all Chief Secretaries, Chief Commissioner Islamabad, representatives of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives and other relevant departments.
During the meeting, the secretary finance briefed that the weekly SPI decreased by 0.59 % during the last week. A week earlier the weekly SPI declined by 0.61 percent. It is the third consecutive week that SPI is declining. He further briefed the meeting that the prices of 09 items declined during last week. The prices of 28 items remained stable while prices of 14 items saw slight upward trend.
The meeting took stock of the strategic reserves of essential commodities and the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue issued directions to relevant departments maintain the strategic reserves of essential commodities and ensure timely and appropriate measures to avoid any untoward situation.
Shaukat Tarin said that National Price Monitoring Committee should adopt a comprehensive and pro active strategy to minimize the gap of prices between grower and retailers. This reduction in gap will significantly lower the prices of the essential commodities for end users. He further said that Pakistan Bureau of Statistics is an independent entity but a committee with SAPM on Finance and Revenue as chairman and consisting of representatives from all stakeholders including representatives from provinces should engage with Pakistan Bureau of Statistics to work out further perfection in data collection mechanism of PBS wherever required.
Meanwhile, a meeting was held with a representative delegation of Fertilizer Manufacturers of Pakistan Advisory Council (FMPAC), led by Lt. General (R) Triq Khan. SAPM Finance and Revenue Dr. Waqar Masood, Chairman FBR and other relevant officers attended the meeting.
Development and promotion of agriculture sector is the top most priority of the government. Prosperous farmer is vital for prosperity of the country. The Prime Minister is very keen about the farmers and agriculture sector. The government will address all the issues of farmers and of sectors attached to agriculture. Fertilizers are backbone of the agriculture and have direct impact on prosperity of the farmers. Issues related to fertilizer sector therefore will be addressed with preference. Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Mr. Shaukat Tarin expressed these views during
Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Mr. Shaukat Tareen listened the issues being faced by the fertilizer sector and directed SAPM (FR) and chairman FBR to have separate meeting with representatives of the fertilizer sector and come up with their solutions.
Article source: https://nation.com.pk/15-Jun-2021/pm-determined-to-bring-ease-in-lives-of-poor