Presenting the budget to the parliament, finance minister Abdulla Jihad said state expenditure for next year would be MVR14.9 billion, whilst the estimated revenue is MVR13.9 billion. The estimated budget deficit for next year is MVR988 million. The deficit is 2.5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). The estimated deficit for this year is MVR1.7 billion. The total budget has been calculated with foreign loans and grants. Jihad said the deficit will be plugged from MVR732 million and MVR256 million expected from foreign revenue and domestic finance respectively. Out of the total expenditure, MVR12 billion will be for recurrent expenses, which is 73 percent of the total budget, Jihad said. Half of that is for salaries and allowances of state employees, he added. The second highest contributor to expenditure would be government aid and subsidies. According to Jihad, capital expenditure for next year would be 27 percent of the total budget, which includes public sector investment programs and loan repayments. Social programs for next year includes, MVR2.2 billion for education and MVR1.7 billion for health care. MVR2.2 billion has been allocated for social security and welfare.