ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday expressed hope the national economy would grow by over 4 per cent during the current fiscal year (2013 14).
Inflation would remain in a single digit spurred by growth in both agricultural and industrial sectors, Dar said while addressing the First Business Session at 47th annual meeting of Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Governors in Astana Kazakstan.
Dar said the fiscal deficit had been restrained to around 6 per cent through an increase in revenues and reduction in expenditures along with positive growth in exports and remittances.
Necessary domestic reforms were being undertaken along with government preference for regional integration through increased connectivity and enhanced preferential arrangements, he added.
He also outlined the government’s strategies in overcoming the macro-economic challenges, according to a statement issued by Finance Ministry here.
Meanwhile during the Constituency Breakfast Meeting, Dar suggested the ADB to revise the absolute poverty line from $ 1.25 per day to $ 2 per day in conformity with the latest revision adopted by the International Monetary Fund.
The minister stated that presently 2.4 billion people (40 per cent of world population) were living below the poverty line of $ 2.