Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov participated in the meeting.

In addition to the draft law, parliamentarians have been provided with forecasts on the main areas of the country’s socio-economic development for the period 2022-2023.

The macroeconomic policy guidelines and indicators of the law for 2021 anticipate that the coronavirus pandemic may continue next year. The focus is on maintaining macroeconomic stability, i.e. GDP growth of 5.1%, while ensuring a positive trend. In particular, the volume of industrial production is expected to increase by 5,8%, construction – by 6,5%, agriculture – by 2,7% and services – by 6,4%,” the report reads.

In 2021, the country’s GDP is expected to reach 688.9 trillion soums, revenue – 147 trillion soums or 21.3% of GDP. The budget expenditure will be 165.7 trillion soums, which is 24% more than in 2020, with more than half of the expenses going to the social sector.

The law provides for a number of budgetary changes. In particular, the Cabinet of Ministers is given the power to reallocate funds during the coronavirus pandemic allotted from the budget for capital investment, design and construction (reconstruction) and equipment of facilities. In addition, local authorities can make equal changes in the income and expenditure projections of the respective local budgets for the following year, taking into account the amount of inter-budgetary transfers planned from higher budgets, balancing relevant local budget projects.

In order to further enhance the transparency of the process, it is proposed that the responsible managers of the relevant ministries and agencies be fined if the ministries and agencies do not publish information on the implementation of the State budget on their official websites.

In 2021, 2.2 trillion soums are expected to be allocated for State educational programs, including 30 billion soums for the housing of orphans and children deprived of parental care.

After discussion, the draft law “On the State Budget of Uzbekistan for 2021” was adopted in the first reading. The responsible committee will finalize the document with the participation of specialists and experts on the basis of the comments and suggestions made during the preparation of the draft law for the second reading.