Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in his meeting with a delegation from the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) led by its Country Representative, Dr Luay Shabaneh agreed that the formula for the National Finance Commission (NFC) award should take into account factors such as income disparity, demographic performance, human development, tax efforts, and forest cover. The meeting was held at the CM House on Monday and was attended by Health and Population Minister Dr Azar Fazal, Secretary to the Chief Minister Raheem Shaikh, and Secretary for Population Hafizullah Abbasi. The UNFPA team included Dr Ashfaq Khan, Director General of NUST, head of UNFPA Sindh Muqaddar, and Program Analyst Renuka Swami, a CM House communique said. In a significant step toward ensuring the equitable distribution of financial resources and promoting sustainable economic growth, the chief minister and UNFPA visiting team analysed the NFC Award. CM Murad Shah said that, for the first time, multiple criteria have been adopted for the distribution of resources under the 7th NFC Award. He emphasised that since 2008, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has advocated for provinces to have full authority over sales tax collection to improve revenue generation. Mr Shah explained that provinces are closer to consumers, which makes them more efficient in tax collection.