Govt makes no budgetary borrowing in first half

The government borrowings from banks for budgetary support were negative during the first half of the current fiscal year ending Dec 31, indicating higher liquidity in the national exchequer. The State Bank’s latest data for the July 1 to Dec 13 period showed a net debt retirement of Rs2.03 trillion against a net borrowing of Rs2.875tr in the same period last year. Experts believe this is historical as the governments in the past had been borrowing heavily for budgetary support, and this debt retirement could be the result of Rs2.7tr inflows from the State Bank in profit. They also noted that this debt retirement was significant given that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) missed the projected collection target during the first five months of 2024-25. The government borrowed Rs7.479tr in FY24 against Rs3.748tr in FY23, reflecting a doubling of borrowing for budgetary support compared to the preceding year.