BUDGET 2026-27: Only half of FY26 uplift budget spent in 11 months

According to the Ministry of Planning and Development, total PSDP utilisation amounted to Rs529.8bn during the first 11 months of the year, accounting for 52.4pc of the original allocation of Rs1.01 trillion. The utilisation was slightly lower than the 54pc recorded during the same period last year, when PSDP expenditure stood at Rs596bn against an allocation of Rs1.1tr. In the aftermath of the US-Israel attack on Iran, the government slashed PSDP allocations by Rs173bn to provide fuel subsidies as petroleum prices surged. As a result, the actual utilisation impr­oved to 63pc of the reduced envelope of Rs837bn. The government started bulk disbursements to parliamentarians’ schemes, codenamed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Achiev­ement Programme (SAP), after the first five months of the fiscal year and disbursed about 70pc (Rs44bn) before the close of the third quarter. As of the end of May, the Planning Commission had authorised almost 100pc (Rs63.236bn) of the revised annual allocation, but actual utilisation remained stuck at Rs44bn, or 70pc of the budget. Interestingly, these funds were authorised and spent within a short span of around four months, making it the fastest-executed programme. As of May 31 this year, ministries and divisions had sanctioned disbursements of Rs835.6bn, almost the entire revised allocation of Rs837.16bn, against which actual expenditure of Rs529.8bn, or 52pc of the ori