The net borrowing of the federal government to meet its financial requirements for running state affairs stood at Rs. 1.6 trillion in the ongoing quarter of the current fiscal year (FY24).
As per official data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the government has borrowed over Rs. 1.6 trillion (cash basis) from the local banking sector during the first quarter i.e. till September 8, a big leap from Rs. 261 billion debt raised during the same period last year.
The government has taken Rs. 98 billion net loan from SBP during the period in review. It is pertinent to mention here that the government can’t borrow directly from the central bank under the mandatory condition of the International Monetary Fund.
The government has also borrowed Rs. 1.5 trillion from scheduled banks during the first quarter of FY24 (till September 8) to bridge the budget deficit.
Overall, net government sector borrowing for budgetary support totaled Rs. 3.74 trillion in the entire FY23 against Rs. 3.13 trillion in FY22.
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