The parliamentary budget committee on Friday signed off on a staggering MVR30.3 million state budget for next year after adding over MVR600 million to the figure proposed by the government.
Government had proposed a MVR29.6 billion budget with an estimated revenue of MVR23 billion leaving the archipelago leaving a budget deficit of MVR3.7 billion which was 4.1 percent of GDP.
However, the parliamentary committee after an intense two week debate had added over MVR600 million to the Public Sector Investment Program (PSIP) and government offices.
Despite the significant increase, committee chair and Maradhoo MP Ibrahim Shareef insisted that the country would maintain the deficit at MVR3.7 billion which was 4.1 percent of GDP.
The committee's report would be submitted to the parliament floor on Sunday, Shareef said.
