20pc raise in salaries, pensions

ISLAMABAD - The fractured PPP coalition government on Wednesday presented its first federal budget of Rs 2010 billion for fiscal 2008-09 with a budgetary gap of Rs 174 billion and estimated fiscal deficit of Rs 582 billion or 4.7 per cent of the GDP.

One way or the other the government has managed to balance the deficit budget through parallel measures of increased taxation and relief steps for the lower income classes.

On top of the relief increase in the government servants' salaries and pensions went up by 20 per cent in addition to doubling of the travel allowance of the grade 1 to 19 employees. The minimum pension level has gone up from Rs 300 to Rs 2000, besides significant increase in the medial allowance.

Along these measures, Naveed Qamar in his budget speech also stated that the govt would increase the strength of the country's apex court from 16 to 29.

Finance Minister also announced during his budget speech that the minimum wage would increase from Rs 4600 to Rs 6000 per month. To improve dismal state of the savings, the government has increased rate of return by 2 per cent on the saving schemes. As Prime Minister Yousuf Gillani had already announced the budget has also regularized the contract staff up to basic pay scale of 15.