Newsletter July 20151

7/24/2019 Newsletter July 20151

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NewsletterPlanning Commission

Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform

Volume 6, Issue 7 July 2015

Money, Prices and Fis-cal Policy

2

International Trade andFinance

3

Public Investment Pro-

gramming

3

Economic Appraisal 4

Public Investment Au- 4

Poverty Alleviation 5

Mass Media, Culture,Sports, Tourism and

6

Nutrition 7

Food and Agriculture 8

Population and Social 8

Education 8

Industries and Com-merce

9

Water 9

National Fertilizer De-velopment Centre

9

Pakistan Planning and 10

Pakistan Institute for

Development Econom-

10

China Pakistan Eco- 11

InsideECONOMIC SECTIONS

months, that is, from Au-gust 3 to October 15,2015.Putting an end to funding

woes, the Gulf lendershave agreed to resumefinancing for the 969-megawatt Neelum-Jhelum hydropower pro-

ject, which has ad-dressed as one of themajor obstacles threaten-ing its completion in thenext year-and-a-half. Adelegation of the IslamicDevelopment Bank (IDB)and Saudi Fund for De-velopment agreed to re-sume $433 million fund-ing during a meeting withFinance Minister IshaqDar.SectoralThe Asian DevelopmentBank (ADB) has ap-proved assistance of over$220 million to help Paki-stan rebuild and upgraderoads, bridges and otherhigh-priority infrastructuredamaged by the devastat-ing floods of 2014. Thisassistance will support abuild-back-better ap-proach, with multi-hazard-resistant features incorpo-rated into the restoredinfrastructure.The banks have sur-passed agricultural creditdisbursement target setby the SBPs Agricultural

Credit Advisory Committee(ACAC) for the year endingJune 2015. Against the tar-get of Rs500 billion, banks

have disbursed Rs515.9billion, which is 31.8 percent higher than the lastyear.In order to help Pakistan totake full advantage of theChina-Pakistan EconomicCorridor (CPEC) and estab-lish agriculture sciencesparks on the thorough fareof the Corridor, Pakistanand Belarus are set to signthree accords related toagricultural cooperationduring the forthcoming visitof Prime Minister NawazSharif to Belarus. In thisregard, a four-member Bel-arusian delegation helddetailed discussions withscientists of the Pakistan

Agricultural ResearchCouncil (PARC) and visitedthe research establish-ments at the National Agri-cultural Research Centre(NARC).Departmental

As per directive of MinisterPlanning, Development andReform Prof Ahsan Iqbal,this Section prepared andcirculated schedule of theworkshops to review imple-mentation status of the Vi-sion 2025. All membersand chiefs concerned havebeen requested to organise

The International Mone-tary Fund has set 4.3 percent budget deficit targetas prior action for the cur-

rent fiscal year. The IMFstaff level report on the 7threview under the Ex-tended Arrangement andModification of Perform-ance stated that due toextra ordinary circum-stances, the authoritieswould incur one-offspending of up to Rs100billion on security en-hancements.Pakistan and theBloomberg InvestorGroup held detailed delib-erations about the eco-nomic revival of the coun-try. According toBloomberg, Pakistanranked 3rdin 2014 amongthe Top Ten Best Per-forming Markets of theworld. Moreover, it wasthe third consecutive yearwhen Pakistan securedits place among thesemarkets.In order to meet growingdemand for dollar, after10 years the State Bankof Pakistan (SBP) hasonce again allowed theexchange companies tobring in US dollars di-rectly in baggage or intheir accounts against thesale of foreign currenciesabroad for more than two

ontinues

Macroeconomic


2/12

The FederalBoard of Reve-

nue (FBR) bound

manufacturers of52 major items to

declare actualmonthly produc-tion data for de-termining sales

tax

2

workshops and apprise ofthe implementation statusof respective pillars of theVision 2025 and their per-formance regarding thepertaining goals and

plans for the implementa-tion of the Vision 2025 in2015-16. These work-shops will be held underthe chairmanship of theMinister PD&R.This Section provided eco-nomic data for reference inInternational Launch Sum-mit on Euro-Asia Platformin Berlin of HistoricalRoute to be held from No-vember 3 to 6, 2015.

Three year data of eco-nomic indicators was pro-vided, which included dataon the GDP and its sec-toral breakdown, inflation,debt and revenue, fiscaldeficit, savings, invest-ment, imports and ex-ports.

An update on daily fluctu-

ating macroeconomic indi-cators is provided to theMinister and SecretaryPD&R in order to keepthem informed of the dailychanging economic indica-

tors.In pursuance of the reformpolicy carried out by theMinistry of PD&R, the Sec-tion drafted and furnishedthe Key Performance Indi-cators (KPIs) after approvalfrom the competent author-ity.During this month, thisSection prepared and for-warded chapter onPerformance of the Econ-

omy during 2014-15 toPlan Coordination sectionfor inclusion in the YearBook 2014-15 of this Minis-try.Comments and views onZero Draft of outcomes forthe UN Summit to adoptthe post-2015 developmentagenda were furnished by

this Section to the Pov-erty Alleviation Section.The Section also fur-nished views on a draftproject completion reporton Accelerating Eco-

nomic Transfer Progressto the Employment, Re-search and Foreign AidSection.

Along with economic mat-ters, this Section is alsoproviding secretariat ser-vices for a project HighImpact New Initiatives ofthe Vision 2025. In thisconnection, a presenta-tion on Passionate Paki-stan Brand was prepared

on the basis of input re-ceived from several ad-vertising agencies andindividuals, and pre-sented to the MinisterPD&R. Moreover, recruit-ment for the post of Pro-

ject Director is in itsphase of completion.

The New BRICS Develop-ment Bank opened inShanghai, which waslaunched during the 7thBRICS Summit in Ufa(Russia) and is intended tohave $100 billion asauthorised capital to facili-tate five BRICS memberstates Brazil, Russia,India, China and South

Africa with infrastructuredevelopment.The Chinese stock marketslumped by 30 per centsince mid-June2-015. TheCSI 300 Index and theShanghai Composite Indexdropped by 5.4 per cent(3,885.92 points) and 5.8per cent (3,686.92 points)initially, and later dippedby 8.6 per cent (3,818.73)and 8.5 per cent

(3,725.56) respectively bythe end of July 2015. De-spite the government res-cue-plan to buttress thestock market, its perform-ance remains erratic and acause of concern for theglobal economy, given thesize of Chinas economy.Pakistans foreign ex-change reserves overshot

the mark of $18 billion byend of July with home re-mittance showing a year-on-year growth of 17.4 percent.SectoralThe Federal Board ofRevenue (FBR) boundmanufacturers of 52 majoritems to declare actualmonthly production data fordetermining sales tax.Some of these 52 major

commodities are sugar,tea, cigarettes, bever-ages, paper, board,chemicals, caustic soda,toilet soap, flakes anddetergent, industrialgases, LPG, and naturalgas.In a bid to restructure thesales tax regime, an ex-emption for this tax will

be granted to any organi-sation or agency (undergrants-in-aid), only on theprovision of the exemp-tion orders from the Eco-nomic Affairs Division(EAD).The KSE-100 index grewby 16 per cent over July-June 2014-15. It nowholds a firm positionamong the worlds top 10performers. However,

Money, Prices and Fiscal Policy

ontinues


3/12

A review of theFBRs tax collec-

tion during June2015 was pre-pared, which re-corded a growthof tax collectionby 14.8 per centover July-June

2015

3

effects of the Chinesestock market tumble, alongwith the global suppressedoil prices, were reflected inthe shedding of 639.71points (1.8 per cent) in a

single day on July 27.The annual average CPIwas registered at 3.2 percent in June 2015,whereby average CPI forJuly-June 2014-15 was at4.53 per cent. Food infla-tion (YoY) was 3.2 percent, whereby the SPI in-creased by 1.1 per centand WPI declined by twoper cent.The FBR collected Rs380

billion (provisional) duringJune 2015, showing a year-on-year growth of 26.1per cent over the collectionof June 2014. During June2015, collections of directand indirect taxes grew by22.6 per cent and 29.1 per

cent respectively over June2014. Sales tax, federalexcise duty and customsduty posted growths of30.5 per cent, 33.1 per centand 22.7 per cent respec-

tively.DepartmentalThe Chief (MP&FP) wasnominated as the focal per-son (coordination) Islamicfinance matters from theMinistry of Planning, Devel-opment and Reform for theImplementation plan per-taining to the section forFive Steps Reform Cyclewas prepared.

A report inflation in Paki-

stan in the global contextfor June 2015 was pre-pared, which identified thereasons and implications ofthe subdued inflation rate,both at regional and do-mestic levels.

A review of the latest

monetary policy state-ment (announced on May24, 2015) was preparedand circulated. The re-view discussed implica-tions of the policy rate cut

and introduction of therevised Interest RateCorridor.

A review of the FBRs taxcollection during June2015 was prepared,which recorded a growthof tax collection by 14.8per cent over July-June2015.

A Review of the Mone-tary Developments (M2)over July-June2014-15

was prepared, which dis-cussed changes in majorindicators (Net Foreign

Assets, Net DomesticAssets, private sectorlending) in view of the cutin policy rate.

The Section updated data

for an analysis of the Ex-ternal Sector performanceof the economy. Accordingto the data released by thePakistan Bureau of Statis-tics (PBS), exports de-creased by 4.88 per centand stood at $23,885 mil-lion during JuneJuly2015. In the same period,imports increased by 2.01per cent and stood at$45,980 million. The aver-

age exchange rate in May

2015 remained at

Rs101.77/$ againstRs98.46/$ of May 2014.The Section preparedbriefs for a meeting of theForeign Exchange ControlCommittee, and 70th ses-sion of the United NationsGeneral Assembly, whilefurnishing comments onthe ADB loan Nos.2446/2447/2525-Pak: Ac-celerating Economic Trans-formation Program- Draft

Project Completion Re-

ports, and input to the

Ministry of Commerceregarding the FTA onservices between Paki-stan and Malaysia.The Section attended ameeting in the EAD onthe Pak-Swiss bilateralconsultation, and circu-lated a report of the Re-gional Planning Council(RPC) to the relevantministries.

International Trade and Finance

A meeting on the NationalEconomic Council deci-sions was held with theTechnical Sections ofMoPD&R under the chair-manship of Advisor Devel-opment Budget Muham-mad Asif Sheikh. TheTechnical Sections were

requested to expedite theupdate.With the start the of newFiscal Year 2015-16, theprocess of releases of de-velopment funds has alsostarted. OverallRs25,188.999 million havebeen released by July 29

with major releases to theNational Highway Author-ity, Pakistan MDGs Com-munity Development Pro-gramme, Higher Educa-tion Commission andPakistan Atomic EnergyCommission.

Public Investment Programming


4/12

Two projectswere deferred,

whereas one pro-

ject proposal forconcept clearanceto initiate negotia-tions with foreigndonors throughthe EAD was

cleared for initiat-ing necessary pro-

cedural steps

4

The Section analysed andexamined 12 PC-Is ofdifferent projects, andundertook cost-benefit

(economic, financial, unitcost) analyses accord-ingly for consideration ofthe Central DevelopmentWorking Party (CDWP)and Concept ClearanceCommittee. The projectswere: Establishment ofFG Degree College forWomen Barakahu(Islamabad), Carbon Neu-tral Pakistan, PM YouthTraining Scheme 2015-18

National Internship Pro-gramme, Faculty Devel-opment Programme forPakistani Universities,Parking Building, SecurityInfrastructure and Re-maining Works of EXPOCentre Lahore, (EXPOCentre Lahore, Phase-III),Provision of SeamlessGSM Coverage alongKKH for Proposed Gawa-dar Kashgar Economic

Corridor in Gilgit-Baltistan, Raising of1xSpecial Security Divi-sion Wing at District Mul-tan, Construction of Ac-commodation for 1xSSDWing at Shakas, Khyber

Agency, Improvementand Up-gradation of Ter-minal Facilities at Pipri,Badami Bagh Stations

and Dry Ports atMoghalpura and Pesha-war (Azakhel), CoalTransportation by Rail toJamshoro Power Plant,Construction of Flyover atShaheen Chowk on Gu-

jrat Bypass, and Con-struction of BlacktopRoad from Yakmach toKharan.This Section also partici-pated in 10 pre and post-

CDWP meetings, whichwere chaired by variousMembers of the PlanningCommission, to presentthe required view point.These schemes were:Strengthening/Upgradation of Agricul-ture and Livestock Re-search, System of AridZone Research Institute,Umerkot, (Sialkot), Con-struction of 132 KV Grid

Station at Darra AdamKhel, FR Kohat & 20 KmTransmission Line from132 KV Grid Station Mat-tani, Duber Khwar HydroPower Project, Land Ac-quisition for Converter

Stations & GroundingStations at both ends of600 kV HVDC Transmis-sion Lines from Port

Qasim to Faisalabad(CPEC Project), Land

Acquisition for ConverterStations & GroundingStations at both ends of600 kV HVDC Transmis-sion Lines from Matiarito Lahore (CPEC Pro-

ject), Special Develop-ment Programme andProject for Provincesand Special Areas,Prime Ministers Youth

Training Scheme, Con-struction/Black Toppingof Access Road from theMakran Coastal High-way to New Airport atGawadar, Karachi-Lahore Motorway. AbdulHakeem-Lahore Section(230 Kms) and Land

Acquisition, Affectedproperties, Compensa-tion and Relocation ofUtilities for China-Pak

Economic Corridor(CPEC) Islamabad-Raikot Section (Phase-I)Havelian-Thakot (120.12kms).

Economic Appraisal

ontinues

Public Investment & Authorization

During July, a meeting ofthe CDWP was held onJuly 3 under the chair-manship of the MinisterPD&R. A meeting of theExecutive Committee ofthe National EconomicCouncil (ECNEC) wasalso held on July 9 withthe Minister Finance.The CDWP meeting con-sidered eight projectscosting Rs178 billion. Outof these four projects re-lating to the physical plan-ning and housing sector,with an estimated cost of

Rs2617 million were ap-proved. One scheme re-lating to the transport andcommunications sector,costing Rs158 billion, wasrecommended to theECNEC. Two projectswere deferred, whereasone project proposal forconcept clearance to initi-ate negotiations with for-eign donors through theEAD was cleared for initi-ating necessary proceduralsteps. The approved andrecommended projectswere: Construction of Ac-

commodation for SpecialSecurity Division(Chinese Security) Paki-stan Rangers Sindh,Rising of 1 Wing asPart of Special SecurityDivision (Chinese Secu-rity) for Frontier CorpsBalochistan, Raising of 2 Special Security Wing(Chinese Security) atRawalpindi & Islamabad,Pakistan Rangers(Punjab), Raising of 1 Special Security DivisionWing (Chinese Security)Pakistan Rangers Pun-


5/12

The ECNECmeeting consid-

ered eight pro-jects, costing ap-

proximatelyRs110 billion.Out of these

seven projectswere approved

5

(Social Safety Net Pro-ject-ComponentV) Con-sultations on developingNational Framework for

Social Protection: ThePlanning Commission,Ministry of Planning, De-velopment and Reforms,through the Social Safety

Net Project Component-IV (SSNP-IV) is providingtechnical assistance tothe governments of theprovincial and Special

Areas for developing pro-vincial Social ProtectionPolicies and Monitoringarrangements. This tech-nical assistance is beingprovided by a team ofspecialists from the MottMcDonald International

(MM). The first step in this

regard is finalising an op-erational and workingdefinition of the socialprotection for the national

framework and to have aconsensus of all federat-ing units on some guiding

principles for developingprovincial social protec-tion policies. In order toseek stakeholders inputson the definition, consul-tative workshops wereorganised in Balochistan,Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunk-hwa and the Federally

Administered Tribal Areas(FATA) during June. Inthese workshops, it was

ensured that stakeholdersworking on social protec-tion in their respectivefederating units partici-pated in the workshopsand contributed by provid-ing their input and sug-gestions on social protec-tion definition and nationalsocial protection policyframework.

Poverty Alleviation

jab at District Multan, Ka-rachi-Lahore Motorway:

Abdul Hakeem-LahoreSection (230 km) Rec-ommended to ECNEC,and Strengthening of Inte-grated Flood ForecastingSystem of Pakistan Mete-orological Department(Concept Cleared).The ECNEC meeting con-sidered eight projects,costing approximatelyRs110 billion. Out ofthese seven projects wereapproved. Priority areaswere: energy (cost Rs54

billion), water resources(Rs36 billion), and trans-port and communications(Rs7 billion). One projectpertaining to the T&C sec-tor costing Rs13 billionwas deferred. The ap-proved projects were:Evacuation of Power from1200 MW RLNG BasedCombined Cycle PowerPlant at Balloki, WarsakHydro Power Station (2ndRehabilitation), DetailedDesign and Constructionof 69 MW Lawi HydroPower Project, District

Chitral (Revised PC-1),Flood 2014 EmergencyReconstruction and Resil-ience Project in the AJK,Disaster and Climate Re-silience Improvement Pro-

ject (DCRIP) in PunjabUmbrella PC-I (WorldBank Assisted), FloodEmergency Reconstruc-tion and Resilience Pro-

ject (Umbrella PC-I) ADBAssisted and Constructionof Basol Dam.

Consultative meeting in the FATA


6/12

Waheed Zaman,who has success-

fully completed

the 17

th

SeniorCareer Manage-ment Course heldfrom February 22to July 7 this year

at the NIM La-hore, and has re-joined the Sec-

tion

6

TECHNICAL SECTIONS

Chief of the Section DrAbdul Waheed Rana re-

tired as a civil servant on

July 30 upon attaining theage of superannuation. A

farewell was arranged inhis honour, and his ser-vices for the PlanningCommission were ap-plauded. The participantsalso appreciated him asan individual and a dy-namic professional, andprayed for his well-beingand prosperous future.Deputy Chief Waheed

Zaman delivered the fare-

well speech. He was ofthe opinion that Dr Rana

had been earnestly guid-

ing the team for the lastmany years, and their

association had alwaysbeen remarkably conge-nial with the outgoingChief. He observed thatthe retirement was not anend in itself, rather thebeginning of a new rela-tionship transcending theofficial wires. ProgrammeOfficer (Coordination)Development Communi-

cation Project Nadia

Masood highly appreci-ated Dr Rana for being

an upright officer, whoadhered to the rules ofbusiness at every costduring his stint with thePlanning Commission,spanning over three dec-ades. Senior LibrarianMuhammad Afzal alsothanked Dr Rana for thelatters role as a mentor.Dr Waheed Rana, whilethanking all present,briefly recounted his

years with the Commis-sion and felt indebted tothe institution for provid-ing him with numerousopportunities of learning.He also thanked every-body present for honour-ing him.

Deputy Chief WaheedZaman, who has suc-cessfully completed the17th Senior Career Man-agement Course heldfrom February 22 to July7 this year at the NationalInstitute of Management(NIM) Lahore, and hasrejoined the Section.

Mass Media, Culture, Sports, Tourism and Sports

Deputy Chief Mass Media Waheed Zaman presents souvenir to the

outgoing Chief Dr Waheed Rana


7/12

A consultative

Scaling Up Nutri-

tion (SUN) coregroup meeting

was held in the

office of the Chief

on July 13 to dis-

cuss matters per-

taining to the

SUN in Pakistan

7

The newly-appointedMember (Food Securityand Climate Change)chaired a meeting with

the relevant sections, andon July 10, the Chief Nu-trition briefed the Memberabout functions and futureroadmap of the Section.The Chief participated ina meeting held betweenthe Planning Commissionand PIDE to initiate jointresearch on issues of na-tional importance, and tosolicit research ideas fromthe Technical and Eco-

nomic Sections of thePlanning Commission andPIDE, and to involve re-searchers from the PIDEto work on the ideas. Themeeting was chaired byMember (Social Sector)Dr Naeemuz Zafar onJuly 14.Sectoral:The Chief Nutrition partici-pated in the core-groupmeeting of the National

Fortification Alliance(NFA), organised by theMinistry of NationalHealth Services, Regula-tions and Coordination(NHSR&C). The mainagenda was to discussthe advocacy meetingswith the media and parlia-mentarians regardingfood fortification in thecountry, technical assis-tance for formulating forti-

fication strategy and forti-fication standards, DFIDsLSF project and its coor-dination with the NFA,inception meeting for theQA and QC manual forfortified wheat flour, andPakistan mission andtheir invitation for the Tan-zania event.On July 6, an officer ofthe Section participated in

a workshop on Multistakeholder consultationfor National Strategy onInfant and Young Child

Feeding (IYCF) strategyfor Pakistan. The work-shop was organised bythe NHSR&C in collabora-tion with the UNICEF.

Also, an officer of theSection participated in afocus group discussion onFirst 1000 Days of life:Implication for mother andchild nutritional status inPakistan held by thePSSP on July 7. The

agenda points were: Whatare the evidence-basedcost effective interven-tions to prevent and treatunder nutrition in Paki-stan?, Where is Pakistanon Three Ones for suc-cessful nutrition pro-gramme?, and How canIFPRI and PSSP help thepost-devolution?The Chief Nutrition partici-pated in a meeting, jointly

chaired by the ministersof state for NHSR&C andBenazir Income SupportProgramme on July 9 inthe MoNHSR&C. Themeeting was held to dis-cuss and deliberate theConditional Cash Transfer(CCT) by linking cashtransfers to immunisation,nutrition, reproductive,neonatal and child healthservices.

DepartmentalA consultative Scaling UpNutrition (SUN) coregroup meeting was heldin the office of the Chiefon July 13 to discuss mat-ters pertaining to the SUNin Pakistan. The mainagenda items were: finali-sation of the Pakistanidelegate for the globalSUN gathering to be held

in October, status of com-mitments for establish-ment of the SUN Secre-tariats in the planning and

development departmentsof the provinces, and theSUN conference call andits venue on July 30.A meeting was conductedin the office of the Assis-tant Chief Nutrition withthe representative of theFAO for discussing theprocess and way forwardfor developing the Na-tional Food Based Die-tary Guidelines on July

15.A monthly research activ-ity is being conductedregularly on cost of thefood basket based on thenational average con-sumer prices of the es-sential commodities ofmajor food items for theprovision of 2150 calo-ries.The findings for June2015, at the federal and

provincial levels, were:estimated cost of the foodbasket increased by 5.8per cent in Sindh, fourper cent at the nationallevel, 3.9 per cent in thePunjab, three per cent inIslamabad and 2.7 percent in Balochistan andKhyber Pakhtunkhwawhen compared to May2015.The year-wise compari-

son for June 2014 toJune 2015 showed thatcost of the food basketdecreased by 13 per centin Balochistan, nine percent at the national level,six per cent in the KhyberPakhtunkhwa, five percent in the Punjab, twoper cent in Islamabadand Sindh.

Nutrition


8/12

The Chief Healthand Population

attended variousconsultative meet-ings, held in theMoNHSR&C, forfurther funding of

the populationprogramme

8

Food and Agriculture

The follow-up activitiescontinued regarding es-tablishment of the Centrefor Rural Economy (CRE)

under the MoPD&R. Inthis regard, correspon-dence was made for ar-rangements related tooffice accommodationand deputation of staff forthe CRE on temporarybasis till the completion ofrecruitment of office staff

for the CRE.A pre-CDWP meeting wasarranged on projectStrengthening/

Upgradation of Agriculture& Livestock ResearchSystem of Arid Zone Re-search Institute, Umerkot,Sindh.

A concept paper and pro-posal of the Punjab HalalDevelopment Authority inthe backdrop of the China

-Pak Economic Corridor(CPEC) was examined,and views and commentson it were communicated

to the CPEC headquar-ters.

As per direction from theMember (Food Securityand Climate Change),communication was madefor holding a meeting ofthe Chiefs of concernedsections.

Population and Social Planning

The Section consulted theMoNHSR&C regarding adocument prepared bythe co-facilitators of theinternational negotiationin the UN on an openingdeclaration, SustainableDevelopment Goals(SDGs and Targets),means of implementationand follow-up and review.The work on NationalConsultation Workshop

and Follow-up on the Pro-gramme of Action of Inter-national Conference on

Population & Develop-ment (ICPD) Beyond2014 has been finalised.The Minister PD&R will bethe chief guest on the oc-casion, and SecretaryPD&R will chair the ses-sions.The Section was involvedin the preparation of ma-terial and data pertainingto population for the YearBook 2014-15, proposal

on funding of the GreenStar Social Marketing bythe German government

processed and mattertaken up with the EAD,furnished comments onvarious issues received inthe Population Sectionand from theMoNHSR&C, and theEconomic and TechnicalSections of the MoPD&R.The Chief Health andPopulation attended vari-ous consultative meet-ings, held in the

MoNHSR&C, for furtherfunding of the populationprogramme.

Education

A meeting was held underthe chairmanship of Mem-ber (SS&D) in his office todiscuss and review thefinal country report on theSAARC DevelopmentGoals (SDGs) on July 6.

The Section also providednecessary input, suggest-ing further developmentmeasures for addition inthe SDGs.Chief and Dep-uty Chief (Education) par-ticipated in the meeting.The 14thmeeting of the Bi-National Working Group(BWG) of the PakistanCanada Debt for Educa-tion Conversion(Canadian Debt Swap)

was held in the Economic

Affairs Division (EAD) onJuly 7. The BWG meetingwas jointly chaired by theDeputy Head of the Cana-dian Mission in Islamabadand Joint Secretary of theEAD. The Project Direc-

tors of the Canadian Debt-Swap Projects for theprovinces of Balochistan,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa andfederal PMU gave theirpresentations regardingthe current status of theirrespective projects. Assis-tant Chief (Education)represented theMoPD&R.

A meeting to review pro-ject Improving Human

Development Indicators in

Pakistan with Focus onMDGs relating to Educa-tion and six EFA Goalswas held in the Commit-tee Room of the MoPD&Ron July 7, and Member(SS&D) chaired the meet-

ing. A core committeewas constituted compris-ing Director GeneralNCHD, Deputy Chief(Education Section), rep-resentatives of the Minis-try of Federal Educationand Professional Train-ings and provincial educa-tion departments andSpecial Areas govern-ment to visit all the prov-inces, and federal entities

to develop the exit strat-

ontinues


9/12

Urea off-takeduring June2015 was

567,000 tonnes,which increasedby 10.6 per cent,

while DAP off-take was

104,000 tonnes,which surged by

72.6 per centover June 2014

9

egy of the NCHD from thealready running FeederSchools and explore othervulnerable and inaccessi-ble areas of the country,where the NCHD can fur-

ther extend its services to

bring out-of-school chil-dren into the educationsystem.Chief and DeputyChief participated in themeeting.General

The government released

Rs1.2 billion to the Na-tional Endowment Schol-arship for Talent (NEST)for disbursement of schol-arships to the needy-cum-talented students.

The Section preparedworking papers on theParking Security and re-maining work of ExpoCentre Lahore Phase-IIIand PC-I of the projectExpo Centre Peshawar

(New Scheme) underpreparation. It also organ-ised a national consulta-tive conference on theSME on July 29, exam-ined PC-I of a projectValue addition in Indus-

tries Cluster DevelopmentApproach of the Ministryof Industries and Produc-tion, and reviewed threeprojects of the TUSDEC,Lahore.

Industries and Commerce

ontinues

The Section carried outthe Financial and PhysicalReview of the PSDP 2014-15 (activity continues),finalisation of the plannedphysical targets of theongoing projects includedin the PSDP, technicalscrutiny of the emergentflood schemes and ap-proval for new schemes(regular activity), prepara-tion of the ECNEC sum-mary (one) and brief forthe Secretary PD&R onthe proposed amendmentin the IRSA Act, techni-

cally scrutiny and prepa-ration of two working pa-pers for approval from theCDWP, and updation offlood, rainfall and inflowdata in the catchment ar-eas of Tarbela, Manglaand across the country.

Officers of the Section

attended various meet-

ings, which included: pro-

gress review meeting of

the Flood Review Com-

mittee, Five Steps Reform

Implementation Plan, Na-

tional Consultative on

Climate change Vulner-

ability Mapping of Water

Resources of Pakistan,

CDWP, instalment of Ef-

fluent Treatment Plant

(RBOD-III), Mangla Dam

Raising in the Ministry of

Water and Power, PC

governing body, imple-

mentation of the NECdecisions and technical

and financial audit of the

Kachhi canal Project.

Water

Production of all fertilizerproducts during June2015 was about 676,000tonnes. Out of this, ureaproduction was 447,000tonnes (66.1 per centshare in total production).Other products were:DAP 70,000 tonnes, CAN69,000 tonnes, NP 79,000tonnes, SSP 8,000 tonnesand various grades ofNPKs 3,000 tonnes. Im-ported supplies com-prised 59,000 tonnes ofDAP, 2,000 tonnes ofMOP and 300 tonnes of

SOP.Total nutrient off-take dur-ing June 2015 was about376,000 tonnes, whichwas 20.4 per cent morethan of June 2014.

Among nutrients, nitrogenoff-take was 314,000 ton-nes, which increased by13.9 per cent, phosphateoff-take was 59,000 ton-nes, which surged 63.5per cent and potash off-take was 3,600 tonnes,which jumped 174.3 percent over June 2014.Urea off-take during June

2015 was 567,000 ton-nes, which increased by10.6 per cent, while DAPoff-take was 104,000 ton-nes, which surged by72.6 per cent over June2014.SectoralThe Centre participated inthe Fertilizer ReviewCommittee (FRC) meet-ing held in the Ministry ofIndustry and Productionto discuss Kharif 2015fertilizer supply and de-mand situation, briefed

National Fertilizer Development Centre

PROJECTS WING


10/12

The Chief NFDC

briefed SecretaryMoNFS&R re-garding provision

of subsidy onphosphatic andpotash fertilizerduring 2015-16

10

the federal minister forNational Food Securityand Research on fertilizerdemand and supply posi-tion of Kharif 2015, andsupplied fertilizer informa-tion to the Planning and

Development Depart-ment, Khyber Pakhtunk-hwa.The Chief NFDC briefedSecretary MoNFS&R re-garding provision of sub-sidy on phosphatic and

potash fertilizer during2015-16.The Monthly FertilizerReview of mid-July hasbeen published and is-sued to all the stake-holders.

Pakistan Planning and Management Institute

The plan for implementa-tion of the Five Steps Re-form Cycle in respect ofthe PPMI was sent to theGovernance Section ofthe MoPD&R.Material for the Year Book2014-15, reflecting thetargets and achievements

and progress of the PPMIwas sent to the Plan Co-ordination Section.SectoralSchedule and contents ofthe training courses, to beorganised at the PPMIduring FY 2015-16, havebeen finalized and lettersto invite nominations ofofficers BS-17 and abovefor participation in thecourses to be held in Au-

gust and September 2015

have also been sent tothe federal and provincialgovernments, and publicsector organisations anduniversities.

As per schedule ofcourses, to be organisedfrom August 2015 to June2016 during FY 2015-16,

a total of 22 courses ofdifferent durations will becarried out on differenttopics, which include: pro-

ject preparation and man-agement in the publicsector, project and pro-gramme evaluation, pro-

ject appraisal and riskmanagement, MS projectand SPSS, public pro-curement policies andPPRA rules, Pakistan Vi-

sion 2025, salient features

and implementation, timemanagement, perform-ance management in pub-lic sector organisations,Project planning, monitor-ing, evaluation and devel-opment of the Key Per-formance Indicators(KPIs), Data collection

tools and methods forplanning, monitoring andevaluation, managing le-gal affairs and issues inthe government depart-ments, human resourcemanagement in the publicsector, Primavera (ProjectManagement Software),contract management,financial managementprocedures and policies inthe public sector and time

management.

ontinues

Pakistan Institute for Development Economics

Three articles of Dr AsadZaman were published inthe Express Tribune,which were: let a Thou-sand Flowers Bloom (July6), Small GoodDeeds (July 13), andEconomical Suicide (July

17). Also an article EmptyCharter (July 9), writtenby Dr Idrees Khawaja,was published in the DailyDawn. This article can beaccessed at: http://www.dawn.com/news/1193214/empty-chatter.Recent research publi-cationsTwo working papersProfile of Educational

Outcomes by Gender: An

Age Cohort Analysis byMadeeha Gohar Qureshi,and Issues in StatisticalModeling of Human Capi-tal and Economic GrowthNexus: A Cross Country

Analysis by Verda Sal-man, Aliya H. Khan and

Madeeha Gohar Qureshiwere published.Agriculture and Envi-ronment DivisionProject: Climate ChangeAdaptation, Water andFood Security in PakistanDr Munir Ahmad and DrMuhammad Iqbal super-vised surveys being un-dertaken in five districts(six villages in each dis-trict) of the Punjab and

Sindh for the collection of

data for joint researchproject of the PIDE andIDRC, Climate Change

Adaptation, Water andFood Security in Pakistan.The surveys include focusgroup discussions withwomen for analysis of the

gender dimension of theclimate change adapta-tion. Overall, the projectaims at exploring re-sponses of crop yields tochanging climate andanalysing the adaptationstrategies being used byfarmers. The insights,provided by the studiesbeing undertaken underthe project, are that thefarming communities in

various regions of the
http://www.dawn.com/news/1193214/empty-chatterhttp://www.dawn.com/news/1193214/empty-chatterhttp://www.dawn.com/news/1193214/empty-chatterhttp://www.dawn.com/news/1193214/empty-chatterhttp://www.dawn.com/news/1193214/empty-chatterhttp://www.dawn.com/news/1193214/empty-chatterhttp://www.dawn.com/news/1193214/empty-chatterhttp://www.dawn.com/news/1193214/empty-chatterhttp://www.dawn.com/news/1193214/empty-chatter


11/12

A number ofmeetings wereheld to updateand coordinate

efforts of varioussecurity agenciesto plan and en-sure security ofthe CPEC pro-

jects as per theplan of implemen-tation of different

projects

11

country are cognizant ofthe overall change in cli-mate, and are accordinglyemploying various adap-tation strategies. In July,Dr Munir Ahmad and DrMuhammad Iqbal spenttime in Mithi, Sindh.Economy WatchRafat Mahmood has con-ducted an analysis of thebudget of the Punjab,while Sundus Saleemihas conducted analysis ofthe provincial budget ofthe Khyber Pakhtunkhwafor the forthcoming Econ-omy Watch July 2014-June 2015.

Nurturing Minds semi-nars series

A seminar on Effect ofPeer Monitoring and Con-tract Choice on Repay-ment Rates under GroupLiability Lending: A Labo-ratory Micro-finance Ex-

periment from Australiaby Dr Shahid Razzaquewas organised on July 6.PSDE core committeemeeting

A meeting of the corecommittee of the PakistanSociety of DevelopmentEconomists (PSDE) washeld with Minister PD&Rand Patron-in-ChiefPSDE Prof Ahsan Iqbalon July 30, which wasattended by SecretaryPD&R Hassan NawazTarar, Chief Economist DrMuhammad NadeemJavaid, Dr Asad Zaman,Dr Munir Ahmad, Dr GM

Arif, Dr Usman Mustafa,Dr Mahmood Khalid, Dr

Junaid Alam Memon,Ahmad Waqar Qasim, DrIftikhar Ahmed and Na-beel Anwar. The meetingwas arranged in connec-tion with the upcoming

31st annual general meet-ing and conference of thePSDE).A detailed pres-entation was given by theSecretary PSDE Dr Munir

Ahmed on progress of thepreparation activities forconference along with abrief introduction on struc-ture of the PSDE confer-ences and programme.Prof Ahsan Iqbal dis-cussed in detail variousimportant segments of theconference, including dis-tinguished speakers forlectures and panellists,and inviting the PrimeMinister to chair the inau-

gural session. The idea toutilise forum of the Paki-stan Institute of Par-liamentary Services(PIPS) to arrangediscussions of theforeign speakerswith the parliamen-tarians was alsodiscussed. It wasalso proposed thatrelevant officers ofthe MoPD&R

should also presentprogress on imple-mentation of theVision 2025 in rele-vant panels during

the conference. Partici-pants of the meeting alsodiscussed to invite rele-vant federal secretaries tochair technical sessions.

The CPEC Secretariathad a productive monthduring which progress inplanning and implementa-tion of the projects wasachieved. The monthstarted with a brainstorm-ing session of representa-tives of all provincial gov-ernments and depart-ments to analyse the in-vestment and industrialcooperation under the

CPEC. These delibera-tions are continuing, andthe Chinese views arealso being received, whileviews of the Pakistanistakeholders will beshared with the Chineseshortly.

A number of meetingswere held to update andcoordinate efforts of vari-ous security agencies toplan and ensure security

of the CPEC projects asper the plan of implemen-tation of different projects.The Ministry of Interior(DG NCMC) is the focalagency to provide one-window operation to secu-rity related to the Chineseworking on the CPEC pro-

jects.The bidding process ofmajor transport infrastruc-ture projects under the

ontinues

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor


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CPEC is progressing well.The Ministry of communi-cation is steering theworking group on thetransport infrastructure.The NHA is sponsoringthe KKH Phase-II (Thakot-Havelian section) andPeshawar-Karachi Motor-way (Multan-Sukkur sec-tion). The Ministry of Portand Shipping is responsi-ble for the Gawadar East-bay Expressway and

Aviation Division for theNew Gawadar Interna-tional Airport. Bids ofthese projects will befinalised in August, and

will be followed by com-mercial contract and fi-nancial agreements.

In the energy sector, pro-jects are making progressas per plan. Coal-basedpower project (Port Qasim1320 MW, Thar 660MWand Sahiwal 1320 MW),solar-based power projectat Bahawalpur of 900MW, and wind projects inThatta are making goodprogress. The LNG andSouth-North TransmissionLines are under consid-eration to be included inthe priority projects and itis on the agenda of the

joint working group meet-ing.The Gawadar situation is

improving. Many invest-ment and industrial coop-eration groups are visit-

ing. The Gawadar portoperator COPHCL (ChinaOverseas Port HoldingCompany Limited) is car-rying out planning anddevelopment of the freezone. Imports and exportsare becoming a regularfeature at the Gawadarport. Many exchangeshave taken place betweensister port cities with ZhaiKaramay.The discussions and ex-change of views regard-ing investment and indus-trial cooperation is in pro-gress. These will be final-ised after input from all

provinces and stake-holders.

We are on the

Web

www.pc.gov.pk

Planning Commission

P-BLOCK, PAK SECRETARIAT,ISLAMABADPAKISTAN.

Newsletter July 20151

Documents

Transcript of Newsletter July 20151