Budget 2021-22, recently approved by the National Assembly, is being seen by the financial and business sectors as the best given the available resources. While the common man has his own reservations as certain levies have led to increase in prices of different commodities, unbalancing their household budgets. 
It is welcoming that during the last fiscal, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has not only achieved its revenue collection target rather surpassed it by 18 per cent. The government, however, needed to expand the tax net for getting more revenue for development expenses, rather then squeezing those who are already paying their share.
Coming again to the budget 2021, total outlay is over Rs8 trillion. Total expenditure for the next year stands at Rs 8.487 trillion; almost 19 per cent higher than last year’s Rs 7.136 trillion. The growth benchmark for the next fiscal year is 4.8 per cent; Current Account Deficit (CAD) is to be limited to 0.7 per cent. Inflation to be capped at 8.2 per cent. 
The government has tried to adopt an inclusive and sustainable economic growth approaching by taking care of the poor strata of the society through the Ehsaas Programme’s expansion, increased development spending for more jobs creation, PM’s initiatives including Kamyab Jawan and Kisan Programmes, and continuation of the stimulus package.
Focusing  on circular debt financing and power subsidies, revenue mobilisation without new taxes, support of the housing sector and the construction industry, facilitating expatriates’ remittances and savings through Roshan Digital Account and  other such schemes, the government has offered something positive in most of the sectors of the economy. 
Likewise, the government is planning to bring all retailers into the tax net, which is exceedingly challenging. But without this fundamental reform we cannot really move ahead with the roadmap to revamp our economic outlook. Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) has been increased from Rs 630 billion to Rs 900 billion to counter the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is a massive increase of around 40 per cent. This would really get the wheel of the economy going, while also spurring growth in the dozens of industries. Allocation of Rs 14 billion for the 10 Billion Trees Tsunami project, which is very significant and need of the hour to address the climate change hitting the country, allocation of Rs 91 billion for construction of water reservoirs are commendable steps. 
Government has introduced  sales tax  at the retail level for sugar consumers and Asia’s largest commodity market, Akbari Mandi, responded to the measure very next day of announcement of the budget and sugar prices moved upward, though little, but making the budget of the common man further hard.
It is a hard fact that food inflation is hovering around 23 per cent in the country and made hard for the common man to meet both ends. Announcement of 10 per cent increase in salaries and pensions will not offset the burden lower strata is already feeling. The new taxation measures will make it hard for it to bear the expenses of wheat flour, oil, sugar and other daily use necessities. Mutton and beef is already out of the reach of the salaried class and for the past some days chicken has also become a dream due to its exorbitant prices. 
Summing up my views, I think, given the tight economic conditions and hard pill of gigantic debt servicing we need to swallow, it is a pro-growth, pro-poor and fairly balanced budget. The budget, if implemented in its true essence, would definitely bear fruit; but at the end of the day it is still a short to medium term approach. 
Increasing the petroleum products prices twice after announcement of the budget is nothing but the mini-budgets, and the government has to contain POL and energy prices to keep our industries competitive in the international market and keep the inflation in some limit for our own consumer base.
The writer is a business
graduate from LSE and
post-graduate from Queen Mary University London