The last fiscal year concluded with a mammoth fiscal deficit of 6.6 percent of GDP (Rs2.260 trillion) and a record $18 billion (5.7 percent of GDP) current account deficit. It was in this backdrop that the government came up with …

A welfare state is one where the state undertakes extensive intervention in the society to assist and protect those who are hit by some calamity or are underprivileged. In other words, the state provides a form of social protection. Most …

Pakistan’s housing backlog has reached almost 11 million units. Only one percent of the housing units developed annually cater to 68 percent of Pakistan’s total population, comprising people who earn a maximum monthly income of Rs30,000. On the other hand, …

Low cost housing for a vast majority of the people poses an enormous challenge in terms of availability of affordable land and finances. The problem is rooted in socio-economic conditions and the solutions are handicapped by obstacles in the lending …

Every now and then a technological revolution comes in that provides almost every country in the world an equal playing field. No matter how big or small a country is, it always has the opportunity to leap ahead irrespective of …

With rising mobile phone adoption, maturing 3G/4G telecom services, rapidly growing mobile money solutions and innovative initiatives like QR codes and mobile wallets, the digital landscape of Pakistan is all set to change. Other recent innovations include MasterPass/Fone Pay and …

The newly installed government in Pakistan faces a number of mammoth tasks like foreign policy issues, weakening currency, booming population, maintaining momentum of GDP growth targets and continuous struggle with energy policy. In order to counter these challenges, the government …

The Pakistan economy and a significant proportion of its population depends on the flows of remittances from overseas workers and the broader Pakistani diaspora. At over US$20 billion in official remittances expected in FY 2018-19, they provide critical support to …

Pakistan currently ranks 135th in the list of global emitters of carbon on a per capita basis, accounting for less than 1 percent of total global carbon emissions, according to World Bank data. According to the report submitted by Pakistan …

The insurance industry in Pakistan contributes almost 0.9 percent of the gross domestic product, of which Takaful industry shares 3 percent of the insurance industry, whereas insurance sector in India contributes 3.8 percent of total GDP and Turkey, where the …