Islamabad: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is presenting the federal budget for the fiscal year 2023-24, with an estimated outlay of Rs14.4 trillion.

In an effort to attract voters for the upcoming general elections, the government plans to allocate funds for various targeted schemes, despite a higher consolidated budget deficit of over 6% of GDP.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has been given a tax collection target of Rs9.2 trillion, while the non-tax revenue target is set at Rs2.7 trillion. To meet the non-tax revenue target, the government intends to increase the petroleum development levy (PDL) from Rs50 per litre to Rs55-60 per litre, aiming to collect Rs870 billion in the next budget.

The lack of credibility in budgetary numbers remains a concern, as they are expected to change throughout the financial year. If a new government takes office after the general elections, it will likely need to introduce a mini-budget to align with IMF guidelines and secure a fresh bailout package.

The finance minister's ability to satisfy the IMF and revive the stalled program remains to be seen. The ongoing stalemate could jeopardize the dwindling foreign exchange reserves, which currently stand below $3.9 billion.

Signing a staff-level agreement with the IMF will depend on fulfilling three conditions: securing external financing of $6 billion, presenting a budget in line with IMF guidelines, and maintaining a market-based exchange rate.

The IMF program is set to conclude on June 30, with no possibility of further extension as mentioned by the finance minister during the launch of the Economic Survey for 2022-23.

There is a credibility gap regarding the accuracy of budgetary numbers, necessitating the presentation of a realistic budget for the next fiscal year.

As the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government's tenure expires on August 12, an allocation of Rs90 billion has been approved for the SDGs Achievement Programme (SAP) in the upcoming budget.

External debt servicing remains a top priority, requiring $25 billion in the next budget. It remains uncertain how the government plans to generate such a significant amount, considering it secured less than $8.1 billion in the first ten months of the current fiscal year.

The fiscal constraints pose significant challenges as the federal government's net revenue receipts will be insufficient to meet debt servicing requirements. After transferring resources to provinces and factoring in non-tax revenue, the total net receipts are projected to be Rs6.5 trillion, while the total debt servicing will amount to Rs7.5 trillion, resulting in a deficit of Rs1,000 billion.

The government aims to increase salaries, pensions, and minimum wages of workers in the FY24 budget, but addressing the yawning budget deficit for the next fiscal year will require acquiring domestic and foreign loans amounting to Rs7,000 to Rs7,500 billion.

وفاقی کابینہ نے سرکاری ملازمین کی تنخواہوں میں 30 فیصد اضافہ کی منظوری دے دی ، ذرائع#GNN #breakingnews #newsupdates pic.twitter.com/OLEmjbPCCd

— GNN (@gnnhdofficial) June 9, 2023

Given the complexity of the situation, deep-rooted structural reforms are necessary to navigate the economy out of the crisis.

California: Meta owned WhatsApp is going to introduce a feature for its users to share pictures in HD (High Hefinition) quality.

According to WhatsApp beta info, users will be able to share the image using this new feature without losing its quality.

It stated that users will be able to use this feature by clicking on the option that appears while sharing the image.

To send HD images you have to use the HD option every time. However, according to the company officials, despite the HD quality, there will be slight compression in the image.

Officials of WhatsApp say that this feature is currently only released for a few Android and iOS beta version users.

WhatsApp management will introduce this feature to every WhatsApp user in a few days. But its final date has not been announced yet.

A woman's near-death experience in the treacherous "death zone" of Mount Everest has ignited a wave of anger on Chinese social media after she refused to pay the rescue fee to the Sherpa who saved her life.

The Chinese climber, identified by her surname Liu, was discovered unconscious at an altitude of 8,500 meters and was rescued by a Sherpa who had been assisting another climber's ascent to the summit.

Liu, a 50-year-old woman from Hunan province, collapsed near the peak when Fan Jiangtao, another climber, encountered her during his own summit attempt.

Fan made the selfless decision to abandon his ascent and assist in saving Liu's life.

He managed to move her around 200 meters down the mountain, but further descent was impossible.

Xie Ruxiang, another climber, arrived at the scene and also volunteered to aid in the rescue, abandoning his own goal of reaching the summit.

The Sherpa accompanying Xie was offered a reward of $10,000 for his assistance.

He carried Liu on his back while the other climbers alternated in elevating her legs to aid blood circulation.

Liu received several days of treatment at the base camp and eventually recovered.

However, when the Sherpa requested the agreed-upon rescue fee, Liu refused to pay the full amount.