Sources told Business Recorder that for the first time the NAC meeting was held twice in a fiscal year to formulate growth estimates largely because 3.2 percent growth estimate earlier projected by the meeting for the current fiscal year after computing on new base year of 2005-06 for the National Accounts was not acceptable to the high ups of Finance Ministry.
A statement issued after the governing council of PBS meeting stated that the Council expressed serious concern over lack of adequate consultation with the stakeholders for rebasing of the data but the officials of the PBS on condition of anonymity said that process for rebasing of National Accounts from 1999-2000 to 2005-06 has been going on for the last many years under a foreign funded project. An official of PBS on condition of anonymity said that the 3.2 per cent growth projected by the NAC for the current fiscal year was not in conformity with 4 per cent growth announced by the Finance Minister only a few days ago at the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank at Washington.
On Tuesday, NAC met for the second time within a fortnight on the directives of Council to work out GDP growth on old base year of 1999-2000 for national accounts. The meeting estimated 3.67 per cent GDP growth for the current fiscal year on the back of 3.13 per cent growth anticipated in agriculture sector, 3.4 per cent by industries and 4.02 per cent by the services sector.
Sources said GDP growth for the previous fiscal year increased from 2.4 per cent to 3 per cent largely because of wheat production of 25.2 million tons, which was around one million tons more than the estimates for the period. Growth estimate of agriculture sector for 2010-11 was projected at 2.38 per cent, industries 0.7 per cent and services 4 per cent. An official of the Planning Commission said that initial estimates were suggesting that wheat production for the current fiscal year may exceed 27 million tons but now the figures given by the provinces suggest that it may remain at 23 million tons for the current fiscal year.