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ARY NEWS

Aleem Malik

  • Pakistan inflation shatters all records, climbs to 47.23pc

    Pakistan inflation shatters all records, climbs to 47.23pc

    ISLAMABAD: The weekly inflation, measured by Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), witnessed an increase of 0.51pc to jump to an all-time high of 47.23 per cent year-on-year (YoY) for the week ending on April 19.

    According to the data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the increase was mainly driven by soaring food prices, which caused a 0.51% rise in short-term inflation on a week-on-week basis.

    During the week under review, the prices of 29 items increased, eight decreased and 14 remained stable.

    Out of the 51 monitored items, the average price of 29 items increased, 8 items decreased whereas 14 items registered no change during the week.

    During the week under review, the items whose prices increased the most compared to the previous year were Cigarettes, Wheat Flour, Tea Lipton, Diesel, Potatoes, Bananas, Eggs, Petrol, Rice, Basmati Broken (87.30%), Rice Irri-6/9 (83.52%), Pulse Moong (68.94%), Bread and Pulse Mash.

    Read More: INFLATION BREAKS ALL RECORDS, CLIMBS TO 35.37PC

    PBS data noted a decrease in the prices of Tomatoes and Chilies Powdered.

    Meanwhile, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures monthly inflation, surged to 35.37% YoY in March.

  • Pakistan’s total population reaches 234 million as census deadline extended

    Pakistan’s total population reaches 234 million as census deadline extended

    ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has once again extended fieldwork of the first-ever digital census for five more days till April 20 as the country’s total population reached 234 million, ARY News reported on Saturday.

    In a statement, the PBS spokesperson said that Pakistan’s total population has reached 234 million (23.4 crores), increasing by 8.06 percent as compared to 2017.

    The spokesperson noted that the country’s population swelled by 10.71 million as compared to the statistics of 2017.

    According to the bureau’s spokesperson, 100 percent census work has been completed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Kashmir, 99 percent in Punjab, 98 percent in Sindh, 90 percent in Islamabad and 82 percent in Balochistan.

    Meanwhile, Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal chaired the eleventh meeting of Census Monitoring Committee today to review the progress of field operation of digital census and other allied matters.

    Chief Census Commissioner, Dr Naeem uz Zafar presented the progress of the census operation. He apprised the forum that out of 156 districts, 100 percent work has been completed in 122 districts while over 90% work has been completed in remaining districts.

    Overall, 230 million population has been enumerated and 40 million households have been geo-tagged. Zafar apprised that the 5-day extension proved to be very successful, enumerating an additional 5 million people in 80 thousand households.

    It was also informed that after conducting an in-depth analysis to identify the reason behind undercount, teams of officers from PBS Headquarter are facilitating DCS and ACS by visiting big cities like Karachi, Hyderabad, Lahore, Faisalabad and Peshawar etc. to ensure complete coverage of all structures/houses and leftover structures.

    As a result of this exercise significant increase has been seen in population and no of households.

    During the meeting, Ahsan Iqbal lauded the efforts that have been made on ground to detect the causes of undercount then working that has been done to improve the population specially after extension.

    Read More: Census: Ahsan Iqbal directs authorities to address ‘undercount’ issue in big cities

    He said that completion of 122 districts is a clear indication that the exercise is going to be completed with success. He monitored the progress of all provinces and asked them to indicate if further extension is required. “The operation must be concluded with mutual consensus and with the assurance that no controversy should left behind,” he said.

    On the other hand, IT Minsiter Ameen ul Haq appreciated the work done by PBS team and all stakeholders for conduct of this National exercise and identifying the abnormalities timely for rectification of the same to avoid any controversy on results of the national gigantic exercise and ownership of process.

    Read More: MQM-P conveys reservations over census to Sindh governor

    He proposed to extend the census operations till 20th April, 2023 in big cities for complete coverage.

    Keeping in view the recommendations of provinces, the Field operation of 7th Population and housing Census has been extended till 20th April, 2023 by Census Monitoring Committee to ensure complete coverage.

     

  • Nepra okays further hike in power tariff

    Nepra okays further hike in power tariff

    ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has approved an increase in the price of electricity by Rs0.46 per unit on account of a monthly fuel adjustment, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

    Nepra has sent its decision to the federal government for notification.

    The increase in electricity tariff will be applicable to all the consumer categories except lifeline consumers and KE users.

    Read more: NEPRA APPROVES RS3.39 PER UNIT ADDITIONAL SURCHARGE FOR ELECTRICITY

    The cost will be charged from April to June, the power regulator said.

    Earlier, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) had allowed electricity distribution companies to charge their consumers an additional fuel cost of Rs3.39 per unit for four months.

    The cost will be charged from March to June, while the consumers were already paying 43 paise per unit surcharge. The new prices will be applicable to consumers across the country including K-Electric.

  • Weekly inflation spikes to 44.49pc

    Weekly inflation spikes to 44.49pc

    ISLAMABAD: The weekly inflation, measured by Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), witnessed an increase of 0.92pc to jump to 44.49pc on a year-on-year basis for the week ended on April 6, according to a report issued by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

    The combined index was at 252.06 compared to 249.75 on March 30, 2023, while the index was recorded at 174.45 a year ago, on April 07, 2022.

    Out of the 51 monitored items, the average price of 27 items increased, 7 items decreased whereas 17 items registered no change during the week.

    During the week under review, the items whose prices increased the most compared to the previous year were Chicken (15.87%), Sugar (13.48%), Potatoes (5.11%), Bananas (4.95%).

    Read More: INFLATION BREAKS ALL RECORDS, CLIMBS TO 35.37PC

    PBS data noted decrease in prices of Tomatoes (14.96%), Onions (12.66%), LPG (3.73%), Pulse Gram (1.20%), Vegetable Ghee 2.5 Kg (0.71%), Garlic (0.16%) and Mustard Oil (0.03%).

    The items whose prices increased the most over the same week a year ago were Cigarettes (165.88%), Wheat Flour (131.72%), Gas Charges for Q1 (108.38%), Diesel (102.84%), Eggs (98.34%), Tea Lipton (97.63%), Rice Basmati Broken (84.92%), Bananas (82.23%), Petrol (81.17%), Rice Irri-6/9 (80.61%), Pulse Moong (68.14%), Potatoes (65.95%), Pulse Mash (56.70%) and Onions (55.75%), while decrease is observed in the prices of Tomatoes (50.39%) and Chillies Powdered (6.48%).

  • Inflation breaks all records, climbs to 35.37pc

    Inflation breaks all records, climbs to 35.37pc

    KARACHI: Pakistan’s monthly inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), reached an all-time high of 35.37 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in March, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data showed Saturday.

    According to data released by PBS, prices in urban and rural areas increased 32.97pc and 38.88pc year-on-year, respectively.

    There was a huge increase in the food inflation rate, mostly because of the disruption of supply chains and weak checks.

    Food inflation rose steeply to 50.2% in rural areas and it also significantly increased to 47.1% in cities last month, the PBS data showed.

    Weekly inflation remains above 45pc

    On the other hand, short-term inflation, based on the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), rose to 45.36 per cent on annualised basis during the seven-day period ended March 30, data compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed.

    The SPI dropped 0.36pc week-on-week with a slight decline in prices of onion, tomatoes and cooking oil.

    For the week under review, SPI was recorded at 249.66 points against 250.66 points registered last week and 171.82 points recorded during the week ended March 31, 2022.

    Out of 51 items in the SPI basket, prices of 23 items soared while those of 11 items decreased, however, rates of 17 items remained unchanged.

    PBS data noted decrease in prices of onions (15.10 percent), chicken (11.96 percent), tomatoes (10.26 percent), LPG (1.35 percent), cooking oil 5 litre (1.24 percent), vegetable ghee 1kg (1.07 percent), vegetable ghee 2.5kg (0.77 percent), pulse gram (0.42 percent), firewood (0.35 percent), pulse moong (0.22 percent) and mustard oil (0.17 percent).

    The items whose prices increased the most over the same week a year ago were cigarettes (165.88pc), onions (127.07pc), wheat flour (123.22pc), gas charges for Q1 (108.38pc), diesel (102.84pc), tea Lipton (98.08pc), eggs (96.67pc), bananas (94.89pc), rice basmati broken (83.65pc), petrol (81.17pc), rice Irri-6/9 (79.17pc), pulse moong (67.85pc) and potatoes (56.44pc).

  • NEPRA releases report on January 23 power breakdown

    NEPRA releases report on January 23 power breakdown

    ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has released an inquiry report on a major power breakdown in the country that took place earlier this year, ARY News reported.

    On January 23, several parts of the country including Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Quetta had plunged into darkness as a high-tension electricity supply line between Quetta and Guddu caused a major power breakdown.

    As per the report, NTDC, Jinco Two Port Qasim Electric Power Company have been held responsible for the countrywide blackout.

    The Inquiry committee while highlighting the flaws in the power system said electricity generation was increased from wind power plants in the South, while in the North, hydel power generation was decreased.

    Read more: NEPRA forms probe committee on countrywide power breakdown

    The power system got affected due to the over supply of electricity in transmission lines, as a result, three plants of K-2 were tripped and 1,940mw electricity disappeared from the system, the report read.

    The system was quickly injected with 3,843mg electricity but despite of this the north region tripped, while cascading was reported in Engro, Shangai Electric and Thar Coal.

    The power restoration took time due to the non-availability of the Skadsystem in the NPCC. The Inquiry committee in its report has recommended upgrading the system and training of the NTDC staff regarding the dispatch system.

  • Pakistan’s weekly inflation jumps to 46.65pc

    Pakistan’s weekly inflation jumps to 46.65pc

    ISLAMABAD: The weekly inflation, measured by Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), witnessed an increase of 1.8 per cent to jump to 46.65pc on a year-on-year basis for the week ended on March 22, according to a report issued by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

    Of the 51 items tracked, the prices of 26 items increased, 12 items decreased, whereas those of 13 items remained stable.

    During the week under review, the items whose prices increased the most compared to the previous year were Tomatoes (71.77%), Wheat Flour (42.32%), Potatoes (11.47%), Bananas (11.07%), Tea Lipton (7.34%), Pulse Mash (1.57%), Tea Prepared (1.32%) and Gur (1.03%), non-food items, Georgette (2.11%), Lawn (1.77%) and Long Cloth (1.58%).

    The products whose prices dropped the most compared to the previous week were Chicken (8.14%), Chillies Powdered (2.31%), LPG (1.31%), Mustard Oil & Garlic (1.19%) each, Pulse Gram & Onions (1.06%) each, Vegetable Ghee 1 Kg (0.83%), Cooking Oil 5 litre (0.21%), Pulse Moong (0.17%), Pulse Masoor (0.15%) and Eggs (0.03%).

    Read more: SBP likely to jack up interest rate to unlock IMF loan

    The upward trend of inflation continues as Islamabad was taking measures to get the $1.1 billion IMF tranche under the Extended Fund Facility.

    Earlier. it emerged that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is likely to raise the interest rate by 2 per cent at the upcoming meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to unlock the stalled IMF loan program.

  • PM Shehbaz Sharif orders no load-shedding during Sehr, Iftar

    PM Shehbaz Sharif orders no load-shedding during Sehr, Iftar

    ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has directed to ensure uninterrupted power supply in Ramazan, especially at Sehr and Iftar time, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

    Following the directions from the PM, Minister for Power Khurram Dastagir has asked the power supply companies to ensure uninterrupted power during Sehar and iftar time.

    “There will be zero-load management before and after one hour of Sehr,” the minister directed the DISCOs. Furthermore, the power companies have been asked to ensure power supply before an hour of Iftar and after three hours of Iftar so that people can perform Tarwaeh prayers.

    The power companies have also been directed to constitute special teams at the division and sub-divisions level to address power-related issues during Ramazan.

    Read more: Ruet-e-Hilal Committee meets today for Ramazan moon sighting

    On the other hand, the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee will meet in Peshawar today (Wednesday) for the sighting of the crescent of Ramazan 1444 AH.

    Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Chairman Moulana Syed Muhammad Abdul Khabeer Azad will preside over the meeting. The Ruet body will meet in the building of Auqaf Department, Peshawar.

    The meetings of zonal and district Ruet-e-Hilal committees will also be held at their respective offices. The committee for Islamabad will meet in the building of the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

  • Govt seeks another electricity surcharge to recover Rs335b

    Govt seeks another electricity surcharge to recover Rs335b

    ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Friday sought imposition of another surcharge on electricity consumers to recover Rs335 billion, ARY News reported.

    The federal government has filed a plea with the NEPRA seeking imposition of surcharge up to Rs3.23paisas/unit. The NEPRA is scheduled to hear the plea of the government on March 16.

    As per the plea, the government has sought the imposition of Rs0.43paisas/unit surcharge on electricity consumers from July to October 30.

    The consumers using above 300 units of electricity per month will be slapped with Rs3.23/unit surcharge during the same corresponding period.

    The consumers using agriculture tube wells will have to pay Rs0.43/ unit from July to October 30 as per the application of the incumbent government, while the imposition of Rs3.23/ unit surcharge has been sought on the agriculture tube wells from November 2023.

    Read more: NEPRA approves Rs3.39 per unit additional surcharge for electricity

    Earlier this month, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) allowed electricity distribution companies to charge their consumers an additional fuel cost of Rs3.39 per unit for four months.

    According to a notification issued by the power authority, the imposition of additional surcharge takes the total cost on each unit of electricity to Rs3.82.

  • Weekly inflation slides down by 0.30 percent

    Weekly inflation slides down by 0.30 percent

    ISLAMABAD: The weekly inflation, measured by Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), witnessed a decrease of 0.30 percent for the combined consumption group during the week ended on March 02.

    According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) report, the SPI for the week under review in the above-mentioned group was recorded at 240.57 points as compared to 241.29 points during the past week.

    As compared to the corresponding week of last year, the SPI for the combined consumption group in the week under review witnessed an increase of 41.07 percent.

    During the week under review, the items whose prices increased the most compared to the same week a year ago were bananas (7.34%), long cloth (3.44%), energy saver (3.33%), vegetable ghee 1 kg (2.48%), gur (2.03%), cooked daal (1.87%), tea packet (1.79%), match box (1.66%), lawn printed (1.52%), cooking oil 5 litre (1.45%) and sugar (1.07%).

    The items which recorded a decrease in their average prices on a week-on-week (WoW) included onions (13.24%), eggs (6.11%), garlic (4.24%), chicken (2.00%), tomatoes (0.59%), pulse gram (0.38%) and potatoes (0.33%), non-food items, LPG (1.84%) and petrol (1.80%).

    On a Year-on-Year (YoY) basis, the commodities which recorded a decrease in their average prices included tomatoes (56.29%), chillies powdered (7.42%) and electricity charges for q1 (6.64%).

    Meanwhile, the SPI for the consumption group from Rs 17,732-22-888; Rs 22,889-29,517; Rs 29,518-44,175; and above Rs 44,175 witnessed decrease of 0.09 percent, 0.12 percent, 0.20 percent, and 0.43 percent respectively.