The federal government has proposed allocating Rs4,264 billion for the national development budget in the 2026-27 fiscal year, according to budget documents obtained by the 24NewsHD TV channel on Monday.
The documents show that the proposed national development outlay includes a federal development budget of Rs1,126 billion, while provincial development budgets are expected to account for Rs3,138 billion.
Under the proposed allocations, Punjab is set to receive a development budget of Rs1,450 billion. Sindh has been allocated Rs816 billion, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is expected to receive Rs564 billion. Balochistan's proposed development budget stands at Rs308 billion.
The budget proposals place significant emphasis on infrastructure development. A total of Rs729.9 billion has been recommended for infrastructure projects, including Rs135 billion for water resource schemes and Rs408.9 billion for transport and communications projects.
The government has also proposed substantial spending for social sector initiatives. According to the documents, Rs187 billion has been earmarked for social sector projects. Within this allocation, Rs78.5 billion has been proposed for education and higher education, while the health sector is expected to receive Rs24.3 billion.
The proposals further recommend allocating Rs70 billion for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) programmes, Rs10.2 billion for governance-related initiatives, and Rs43.9 billion for science and information technology projects.
Special regions have also been included in the proposed spending framework. The government has recommended allocating Rs79.4 billion for Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, while Rs66 billion has been proposed for the merged districts.
Reporter: Waqas Azeem