The Balochistan government on Tuesday announced a Rs1.028 trillion budget for fiscal year 2025–26 (FY26), with a Rs42 billion surplus and an emphasis on public welfare and relief measures.

Tabling the budget, Balochistan Finance Minister Mir Shoaib Nosherwani said Rs642 billion had been set aside for non-development expenses, while Rs249.5 billion was proposed for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) in FY26.

Nosherwani said the total estimated expenditures for the next FY26 were Rs986 billion, while the volume of current operating expenditure had dropped from Rs43 billion to Rs33 billion.

"The government has enhanced the provincial income and set a target to generate Rs 226 billion in revenue in the upcoming fiscal year," he said.

"Development grants of Rs66.5 billion for federally funded projects and Rs 38 billion as Foreign Projects Assistance (FPA) have been estimated despite the provincial development programme in the fiscal year 2025–26."

He added that under the development budget, Rs 249.5 billion would be spent on about 3,633 ongoing schemes and 2,550 new development projects, with Rs 18 billion earmarked for the installation of safe city projects in eight cities in the next fiscal year.

The finance minister announced that Rs 4.5 billion had been proposed in terms of capital expenditure for the purchase of necessary equipment and machinery — Rs6 billion less than the previous year— and Rs113 billion had been designated as grants for departments.

Nosherwani also stated that the provincial government had successfully spent the entire development budget for the current fiscal year.

Terming education, health, climate change, law and order as the priorities of the provincial government, the minister announced the creation of 4,188 contract-based and 1,958 regular jobs to provide employment to the youth of the province.

To improve the economic condition of the employees, the minister said that the government had increased the salaries of employees from grades 1 to 22 by 10%. Meanwhile, the provincial government announced a 7% increase in pensions for retired employees.

"The budget is based on the province’s actual needs, economic capacity, and ground realities, aiming to ensure balanced development across both urban and rural areas," Nosherwani said.

The development budget of Rs55.19 billion has been assigned to the Communication and Works Department, which is an increase of 19% from the current year, for the construction of roads and the upgradation of existing infrastructure, according to the minister.

"The government has set aside a Rs42.78 billion development budget for the irrigation sector to boost agriculture and manage water resources. Major investments are being made in dams, canals, and water storage systems."

Nosherwani said that Rs24.84 billion would be channelled into the development of the education sector — secondary and higher education —to upgrade educational infrastructure, hire teachers, and introduce modern facilities.

"Rs16.15 billion has been put towards the development budget for the upgradation of hospitals, recruitment of medical staff, and procurement of modern healthcare equipment in the FY26," the minister announced.

For the science and information technology department, he said Rs12.66 billion had been allocated. As part of the “Digital Balochistan” vision, the government will promote e-governance, internet access, and tech-driven services, according to the provincial minister.

"Rs17.16 billion will be spent on providing clean drinking water to the residents of the province, along with the improvement of sewerage and wastewater management solutions across the province," the finance minister said.

For strengthening municipal institutions and resolving local issues efficiently, Shoaib said that Rs12.91 billion had been set aside for the local government department in the new budget.

Moreover, an amount of Rs10.17 billion had been earmarked for agriculture to support farmers through seed, fertiliser, and modern agricultural tools.

It was added that Rs7.84 billion would be spent on the Energy Department, focused on energy distribution and the installation of renewable energy projects to tackle load-shedding and boost energy reliability.

A total of Rs567.6 million has been reserved for the mines and minerals department to develop Balochistan’s rich mineral resources through modern and efficient methods.

An estimated amount of Rs154 million has been set aside for the empowerment of women in areas such as education, healthcare, and economic participation, as per the minister.