The government approved on 28 September a draft budget that envisages for the first time public expenditures in excess of $1 billion, an increase of almost 20 percent over the comparable figure for 2005, RFE/RL\'s Armenian Service reported. The draft, which will be submitted to parliament next week, envisages revenues of 380.3 billion drams ($853 million) and expenditures of 450.2 billion drams. The 70 billion-dram deficit is to be financed overwhelmingly from domestic sources, rather than low-interest loans from the World Bank. The single-largest item of public spending remains the defense sector, which is slated to receive 74.3 billion drams ($166 million), a 21 percent increase over 2005. Social spending too will be increased, according to Deputy Finance Minister Pavel Safarian, who promised increases in public-sector wages and poverty benefits. Gross domestic product growth in 2006 is predicted at 7.5 percent, down from the double-digit growth registered over the past five years. (RFE/RL)