The Finance Division Finance Division has clarified recent reports regarding the increase in civil government expenditure, saying the figures were presented without proper context and created a misleading impression about federal spending trends.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the ministry said a significant portion of the increase was driven by salary adjustments announced in the federal budget as well as allocations for key public welfare initiatives, particularly the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI).
According to official figures, civil government expenditure during the first nine months of FY2024-25 stood at Rs. 559 billion, including Rs. 388 billion in employee-related expenses and Rs. 171 billion in non-employee expenditure.
During the same period of FY2025-26, total spending increased to Rs. 629 billion, with Rs. 427 billion attributed to employee-related costs and Rs. 202 billion to non-employee expenditure, reflecting an overall increase of 12.5 percent.
The ministry stated that employee-related expenditure rose by nearly 10 percent mainly due to salary and pay increases introduced in the federal budget. Meanwhile, non-employee expenditure increased by Rs. 31 billion.
However, officials said Rs. 29 billion of the increase was allocated to the Expanded Programme on Immunization, a nationwide health initiative aimed at protecting children against preventable diseases.
After excluding EPI-related spending, the actual increase in non-employee expenditure was around Rs. 2 billion, according to the statement.
The Finance Division maintained that expenditure figures should be evaluated in the context of welfare allocations and budgetary adjustments to present a more accurate picture of government spending patterns.
