Planning Ministry, UNDP Launch Report "Inclusive And Sustainable Development"

The United Nation Development Programme Pakistan and Ministry of Planning, Development and Reforms launched a report titled "Inclusive and Sustainable Development

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Feb, 2018 ) :The United Nation Development Programme Pakistan and Ministry of Planning, Development and Reforms launched a report titled "Inclusive and Sustainable Development: Analytical basis and policy framework" here Monday.

The launching ceremony of the event was chaired by Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal and was attended by Secretary Planning, Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, representatives from the national and provincial governments, international development partners, civil society organizations, think tanks, and other academia.

The report authored by economist Dr Akmal Hussain highlights that there has been a historical shift in the conceptual basis for growth policy and the earlier view that economic inequality is a necessary concomitant to high growth has been overturned by new research which shows that high economic inequality is harmful for growth sustainability.

The report reinforces This includes mechanisms to increase gender equality and development providing entrepreneurship opportunities to youth, women and minorities, building resilience against climate change, addressing water challenges, utilizing hydro power potential and instituting change through which local governments can play an effective role in participatory democracy and inclusive development.

Addressing on the occasion, Ahsan Iqbal said the for last four years the government was giving special focus on sustainable and inclusive growth. He said for the first time in country's history, the government managed poverty mapping at districts levels in an effort to find out exact figures of poverty in the country.

He said the report aims at overcoming social and economic inequalities in the country and it will serve as a focal point for the inequality debate in Pakistan. The minister said the current government has tried its best to mitigate the social and economic inequalities by providing best services in health, and education sectors besides building infrastructure of the country which has helped connecting the far flung areas of the country to major cities.

Moreover he said due to extreme energy crisis in the country, the inequalities among rich and the poor were widening, however he said due to heavy investments in energy sectors by the government, the energy crisis has been improved and the load shedding period has come down from 20 hours to only two hours a day.