NDFI Cap for Gov’t at $3.2b

EghtesadOnline: As part of their latest open session on Sunday to discuss the fiscal 2018-19 budget bill, members of parliament designated the areas where resources from the National Development Fund of Iran are allowed to be spent by the government.

News ID: ۷۸۱۹۸۶

13 March 2018

From the total of 229 MPs present in the session, 188 voted in favor of this measure.

The administration of President Hassan Rouhani will henceforth be allowed to tap into a total of 143.75 trillion rials ($3.2 billion) of NDFI resources and redirect them to the Treasury during the next fiscal year that begins on March 20, ICANA, the official news portal of the parliament, reported.

The Guardians Council, the body vetting the bills for Sharia and constitutional compliance, has verified that the NDFI funds could be allocated to eight entities to further the goals of the Sixth Five-Year Development Plan (2017-22), according to Financial Tribune.

The first is the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, which is to receive funds to develop the quality and quantity of its productions, animations, documentaries, movies and TV series. The second is «strengthening defense power».

NDFI resources are also to be spent to rebuild regions ravaged by earthquakes and to organize distressed areas, in addition to expanding the modern irrigation system and implementing rural water supply plans.

In addition to watershed management, removing power supply problems and fighting haze, and producing vaccines for pneumonia and combating infections in children were the other uses earmarked for the resources of the sovereign wealth fund.

«Any payments outside the aforementioned items, including salaries and benefits and transferring the credits of this article, are prohibited,» the approved measure reads.

Credits related to supplying water to villages and irrigation systems will be notified and allocated in the first three months of the next fiscal year that begins on March 21.