ECC meeting likely to approve Rs1.2 trillion Corona relief package today

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Adviser on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh will chair an Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) meeting in Islamabad and is likely to approve a Rs1.2 trillion corona relief package for the public amid the countrywide lockdown. The government has called a special meeting of the ECC of the Cabinet today to clear the relief package announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan last week to minimise the adverse impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the country’s poor people and economy. The ECC had been called with a single-point agenda of relief package that involved an additional fiscal impact of close to Rs550 billion on the federal budget. About Rs192bn income support was part of the federal budget announced in June last year, but about Rs144bn could not be utilised so far due to slow disbursements. These funds would now be utilised to provide Rs3,000 per month support to over a million beneficiaries. Rs200 billion fund will be allocated for the daily wagers. Likewise, Rs70bn relief announced for petroleum products also did not require ECC’s approval as adjustments in petroleum levy and sales tax were in routine made by the ministry of finance and the FBR on a monthly basis. The government had announced the total size of the relief package at Rs1.24 trillion to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 outbreak on the country’s economy and vulnerable segments of society.