Finance Ministry has revised upward the interest payment to Rs 1194 billion for the current fiscal year from a budgeted Rs 1151, which reflects an increase of Rs 43 billion. Analysts argue that the increase in the interest payment for the current fiscal year in revised estimates indicates a substantial government domestic borrowing which is likely to continue in the next fiscal year as well.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has maintained that the government is borrowing to retire the debt taken by the post-1999 governments. However, sources said the country's public debt is projected to increase by Rs 1124 billion in the current fiscal year as a result of domestic debt of Rs 907 billion and foreign debt Rs 216 billion.
Total public debt of the country is projected to increase to Rs 15494 billion in the current fiscal year from Rs 14370 billion in 2012-13. The domestic debt is to rise from Rs 9521 billion in 2012-13 to Rs 10428 billion in 2013-14. Foreign debt would increase from Rs 4849 billion in 2012-13 to Rs 5065 billion in 2013-14.
The government has estimated Rs 215 billion in the next year's budget on account of pension, which is 24 per cent higher as compared to actual expenditure of Rs 171 billion in the fiscal year 2012-13 and 15.73 per cent higher from what was budgeted in 2013-14. In budget 2013-14, Rs 171 billion was estimated for pension, which has been revised upward to Rs 186 billion after an increase of Rs 15 billion.
The defence expenditure is projected at Rs 700 billion in the next fiscal year, which is 23 percent higher from Rs 569 billion actual expenditure in 2012-13 and Rs 11.64 per cent higher from budgeted Rs 637 billion for the current fiscal year which has now been revised upward to Rs 636 billion.