LAHORE: The provincial cabinet on Monday approved the annual budget for the financial year 2022-23 besides approving annual development funds. A meeting was held under the chair of Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz here, the cabinet approved a financial bill for 2022-23 with approval of revised estimates for 2021-22. The meeting also approved an increase in salaries of the provincial employees besides raising pensions. A 15 percent special allowance was also approved for the employees. The meeting approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for providing free medicines to cancer patients across the province. The meeting also validated the decisions taken in the previous meeting of the Punjab cabinet. Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister appreciated the efforts of provincial ministers, chairman of planning & development, secretary of finance, and other officials concerned in preparing the best budget documents. He said that solid measures for providing genuine relief to the masses had been suggested in the budget. The provincial ministers, chief secretary, and officials concerned were also present.