Govt’s weekly borrowing surpasses Rs35 billion

WEB DESK: The government of Pakistan has incurred an additional debt of Rs35.4 billion during the week ending May 24, 2024. This brings the total net borrowing for the fiscal year 2024 to Rs5.53 trillion, according to the State Bank of Pakistan’s weekly estimates.

Government borrowings this fiscal year have consistently exceeded those of previous years. These borrowings are categorised into three main areas: budgetary support, commodity operations, and other purposes.

For the week in question, the net borrowing was divided as follows: Rs24.52 billion for budgetary support, Rs13.07 billion for commodity operations, and a repayment of Rs2.19 billion in other areas. Consequently, the cumulative borrowing for fiscal year 2024 stands at Rs5.68 trillion for budgetary support, Rs149.47 billion for commodity operations retirement, and Rs5.48 billion for other repayments.

The primary sources of financing for budgetary support are the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Scheduled Banks. This fiscal year, the government has repaid a net sum of Rs1.07 trillion to the SBP.

Breaking this down, the Federal Government retired Rs598.84 billion, the Provincial Government Rs423.28 billion, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Government Rs38.19 billion, and the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Government Rs5.16 billion.

Conversely, the Scheduled Banks have lent a net total of Rs6.75 trillion. Out of this, the Federal Government borrowed Rs6.9 trillion, while the Provincial Government retired Rs151.49 billion.

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