70 Percent of COVID-19 Relief Fund Utilized: Ministry of Finance

The Federal Finance Ministry released details on the designated Rs. 1,240 billion COVID-19 relief fund, on Monday. The government had announced this fund last year as a stimulus to offset the probable damages of the pandemic. The government released Rs. 875 billion, or 70 percent, of the total, announced package amount for various sectors of the economy, while the remaining amount has yet to be realized. ALSO READ IMF Praises Pakistan’s Strong Economic Recovery From COVID-19 According to the data released by the government, Rs. 510.1 billion (41 percent of the total budget and 58 percent of total expenditure) were used as cash handouts to the lower-income class for their sustenance. The remaining Rs. 365 budget was supposed to be part of the cash program. Under a different head, from the Rs. 200 billion budget devised for daily wagers’ support, only a chunk of Rs. 16 billion was materialized, while from the Rs. 50 billion budget for the utility stores only Rs. 16 billion were loosened, the numbers said. On the other hand, the stimulus package for exporters, the government under then the Finance Minister, Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, announced Rs. 100 billion and Rs. 86 billion were realized from that head. ALSO READ Sindh Govt Warns of Strict Action for Spreading Fake News About COVID-19 Other heads and funds released in them according to the ministry numbers today are: