Pakistan's new government Wednesday announced plans to boost defence spending by 10 per cent as part of its new budget planning, dpa reported. The plans are part of the budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year, which starts July 1. The defence increase comes on the heels of an alleged airspace violation into Pakistan by jets from arch-rival India on Tuesday, which prompted Islamabad to scramble its fighter planes. The increase from 570 billion rupees (5.7 billion dollars) to 627 billion rupees, according to documents presented in parliament by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, has been termed modest by analysts. Dar also aims to revive the crippled economy with a 50-per-cent increase in development spending, to 540 billion rupees, expected to spearhead growth and create job opportunities. The government has set a growth target of 4.4 per cent, after achieving 3.6-per-cent growth in 2012-13. It also announced plans to reduce the fiscal deficit to 4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) within three years. That figure currently stands at more than 6 per cent. Dar tax collection would rise to beyond 10 per cent of GDP, from a current level of 8.9 per cent, one of the lowest in the world. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif won last month's election promising to rebuild the national economy.
