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June 25, 2023: National Current Affairs MCQs
1. Rs215bn in new taxes to help seal IMF deal
• The government has made several changes to next fiscal year`s budget, including fiscal tightening measures dictated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a last-ditch effort to secure critical funding.
• `Pakistan and IMF had detailed negotiations for the last three days as a last effort to complete the pending review,` Finance Minister Ishaq Dar told the house as he unveiled the changes on Saturday.
• He said the government now aims to generate another Rs215 billion in taxes and cut spending by Rs85bn in the next fiscal year, without reducing the federal development budget or the salaries and pensions of government employees.
• This will revise the government`s revenue collection target to Rs9.415 trillion and put total spending at Rs14.48tr, he said
2. Two martyred in `unprovoked` firing across LoC
• Two residents of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) were martyred, while another was injured when Indian troops resorted to unprovoked firing from across the Line of Control (LoC) on Saturday, marking the first major `wilful` ceasefire violation in two and a half years, police and military sources said. The casualties occurred at 12 noon when the victims were grazing cattle on their side of the unmarked dividing line in Tetrinote area, Mohammad Naseer, an official at a police post in nearby Doonga village, told Dawn by telephone.
• Tetrinote is the location of crossing point at the LoC in Poonch division, but the crossing is currently nonfunctional.
• `Indian troops opened fire on them without any provocation, leaving the eldest of them dead on the spot and the other two wounded,` the police official said.
3. No more multiple pensions
• Finance Minister Ishaq Dar told the National Assembly on June 24, 2023 said the government had implemented various reforms in the pensions scheme. One decision is to eliminate multiple pensions, ensuring that a government official will receive only one pension for officials in Grades 17 and above in the first phase.
• Besides, when calculating the pension amount, the ad hoc pension allowance will be included as part of the net pension without compounding. The pensioner will opt for the highest amount of pension. He said that high-profile people in Pakistan are currently receiving multiple pensions. `I know people receiving three pensions,`Mr Dar said.
• Furthermore, the pension will be available for dependents for 10 years after the death of the pensioner and their spouse
4. CDWP clears 28 projects worth Rs309 billion
• The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Saturday cleared 28 development projects worth Rs309.14 billion in the areas of education, technology, energy, physical planning and communications.
• The CDWP met under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal, said a press release.
• The meeting was attended by the Secretary Planning Ministry, members Planning Commission and representatives from the various ministries
5. Pakistan`s wheat yield may decline 16pc due to climate change
• Wheat yield in South Asian countries, including Pakistan, is feared to decline by 16 per cent by 2050 due to climate change, reveals a new study released by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) on June 24, 2023.
• Simulations for South Asian countries suggested a different magnitude of climate change impacts with India and Pakistan being the most affected countries with a general decline of wheat yields of 16pe, particularly due to warmer temperatures. However, areas in western Iran, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Myanmar could experience a positive response to climate change.
• Climate change will lower global wheat production by 1.9pc by midcentury, with the most negative impacts occurring in Africa and South Asia, according to the research
