Price Up
- Icecream, Carbonated beverages
- Tobacco, Cigarretes
- Cashew nuts
- Air conditioners, Refrigerators
- Mobile phone talk time and internet
- Energy sector
- CNG LPG filling stations, CNG conversion kits, Cylinders
- Power plants
- Economic zone
- Water filter
- LED bulbs
- Tourism services
Price Down
- Rice
- Edible oil
- Sugar
- Powdered milk
- Chocolate
- Dengue test kits
- Kidney treatment
- Cancer treatment
- Laptop
- Electric motor
- Motorcycle
- Aircraft engines, Propellers
- Carpet
- Swiss-socket
- Methanol
June 06, 2024. 06:35PM (GMT+6)
Awami League General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader has termed the proposed national budget for FY2024-25 as a realistic and public-friendly one despite the crisis.
“In this time of crisis, it has been a mass-oriented budget. The budget has been proposed taking into consideration the promises and priority sectors given in the AL’s election manifesto,” he said while talking to reporters following the budget session at the parliament on Thursday (6 June).
“The budget was not prepared according to anyone’s prescription. Sheikh Hasina’s government does not follow anyone’s prescription,” he added.
At this time, regarding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India, he said that the Prime Minister will visit Delhi on the for of Narendra Modi’s swearing-in not on Friday (7 June) but on Saturday (8 June).
June 06, 2024. 06:25PM (GMT+6)
Bangladesh will get the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) benefits to Canada and the United Kingdom (UK) till 2029 and duty-free access to Australia till 2032, Finance Minister A H Mahmood Ali said.
“The government is working to increase the country’s export earnings through trade expansion. In the first fiscal year after independence, Bangladesh exported 25 products to 68 countries and earned only $348 million.
In contrast, in FY2022-23, Bangladesh exported 806 products to 210 countries and regions,” he said during his speech presenting the national budget for FY2024-25 on Thursday (6 June).
“Export earnings have been remarkable over the past 10 years. To take forward the country’s development, we have taken up various initiatives to enhance the diversity and excellence of Bangladeshi products to be marketed in domestic and international markets,” he added.
“We are actively taking and implementing different measures, including signing Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and Preferential Trade Agreements (PTA) with various promising countries and regional trade and economic alliances,” the minister further said.
A H Mahmood Ali said the government is working to improve the trade relations with various countries and regional organisations to solve the issue of reduced duty-free access to developed and developing countries following the graduation from the status of a least developed country to a developing country.
“As part of this initiative, so far, we have concluded 75 trade agreements with a total of 44 countries. We have also taken steps to establish PTAs or FTAs with different countries and regional organisations commercially important for Bangladesh,” he added.
He said in 2020, a PTA was signed with Bhutan, and significant progress has been made towards signing PTAs with Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
A decision has been made to start negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with India, for which an exchange of information is currently underway, he added.
In October 2016, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with China to conclude an FTA. Besides, we have formed a Core Working Group to work towards concluding an FTA or Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Japan, one of Bangladesh’s key development partners, he further said.
Currently, Bangladesh enjoys GSP benefits in 27 countries of the European Union for everything but arms (EBA) agreements.
June 06, 2024. 06:22PM (GMT+6)
Depositors who park funds in the offshore banking units of their banks will enjoy exemption from excise duty on foreign currency deposits in the coming fiscal year of 2024-25, according to the proposed tax measures.
The government has offered the benefit as banks in the country are working to attract foreign currency holders, particularly non-resident Bangladeshis, to make deposits in their offshore banking units (OBUs).
The development comes after Bangladesh Bank relaxed the rules and allowed banks to receive funds from OBUs amounting to 40 percent of their regulatory capital to settle payment obligations.
Besides, there will be no change in the excise duty on bank debit or credit balances of up to Tk 10 lakh at any time of the year.
However, the annual excise duty on bank balances of between Tk 10 lakh and Tk 50 lakh in local currency will be Tk 3,000.
Meanwhile, the excise duty on bank accounts having debit or credit balance between Tk 50 lakh and Tk 1 crore was increased to Tk 5,000, showed the budget proposal of the finance ministry.
For bank balances between Tk 1 crore and Tk 5 crore, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) seeks to create two slabs: Tk 1 crore to Tk 2 crore and Tk 2 crore to Tk 5 crore.
As per the proposal, the excise duty will be Tk 10,000 on debit and credit balances of between Tk 1 crore and Tk 2 crore.
For debit or credit balances between Tk 2 crore and Tk 5 crore at any time of the year, the amount of excise duty will increase to Tk 20,000 from Tk 15,000.
However, the NBR seeks to keep the amount of excise duty unchanged for debit or credit balances exceeding Tk 5 crore at any time of the year.
June 06, 2024. 06:15PM (GMT+6)
The government has set a target of borrowing Tk1,37,500 crore from the banking sector to meet the budget deficit for the fiscal year 2024-25.
In the proposed budget for FY25, placed in the parliament today (6 June), Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali said the government has to collect a total of Tk2.56 lakh crore from foreign and domestic sources to meet the budget deficit.
Out of this, Tk95,100 crore will be collected as foreign grants and loans and Tk1.61 lakh crore will be collected from domestic sources.
About 85.4% of the domestic funding will be raised through borrowing from the banking sector.
In the budget for FY24, the finance ministry estimated the target of borrowing from banks at Tk1,32,395 crore.
Due to the failure to collect the desired revenue, however, the finance ministry increased the amount of bank borrowing to Tk1,55,935 crore in the revised budget.
According to data from the Bangladesh Bank, the government’s net borrowing from the banking sector amounted to Tk45,557 crore from last July to 22 April this year, as a repayment of Tk19,874 crore was made to the central bank.
June 06, 2024. 06:01PM (GMT+6)
Finance Minister A H Mahmood Ali said the government will introduce a credit scoring system utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technology to facilitate loan services from these digital banks.
“A credit scoring system utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning technology will be introduced to facilitate loan services from these digital banks. As a result, it will be possible to identify fake and anonymous borrowers very easily and the loan processing will be much easier for the genuine borrowers,” he said.
The finance minister said this while placing around Taka 7.97 lakh crore national budget for FY25 at Jatiya Sangsad here this afternoon.
In his speech, Ali said as part of the initiative to develop ‘Smart Bangladesh,’ announced by the Government of Bangladesh, letters of intent were issued on October 25, 2023, for two digital banks- Nagad Digital Bank PLC and Kori Digital Bank PLC.
“These digital banks aim to provide information and technology-based banking services to the people. Plans are underway to increase the number of digital banks in the future,” he added.
June 06, 2024. 05:34PM (GMT+6)
Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali has proposed Tk1,36,026 crore budgetary allocation for social safety net programmes in 2024-2025 fiscal year.
He proposed the allocation while placing the budget for 2024-2025 fiscal year in the parliament today (6 June).
The allocation for social safety net programmes in the new budget is Tk9,754 crore more than the budget for 2023-24 fiscal year. Allocation in this sector was Tk1,26,272 crore in the last FY.
In his budget speech, the finance minister said the government is committed to protect the interests and rights of persons with disabilities.
He stated that the number of disability allowance recipients will be increased from the current 29 lakh to 32.34 lakh in the next financial year.
Besides, the stipend for students with disabilities will be raised from Tk950 to Tk1,050 at the higher secondary level.
Mentioning that the government is paying special attention to the well-being of the elderly population, the minister said the number of beneficiaries of allowance for senior citizens will increase to 60.01
lakh and an allowance of Tk4,351 crore will be made in the budget.
Moreover, he said a decision has been made to increase the number of widows and abandoned women receiving allowances from 25.75 lakh to 27.75 lakh.
The allowance of Tk1,844 crore will be allocated for the widows and abandoned women in the budget, he added.
June 06, 2024. 05:17PM (GMT+6)
The government has set aside Tk100 crore for the development of the blue economy in the upcoming fiscal year, aiming to harness the potential of marine resources and ensure their sustainable use.
Proposing this allocation, Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali emphasised the importance of research and development activities within the blue economy sector.
On Thursday, the Finance Minister presented a Tk9.97 lakh crore budget proposal for the fiscal year 2024-25 in the National Parliament.
In his budget speech, the Finance Minister mentioned that the existing ‘Offshore Model-PSC 2019’ has been enhanced to create the ‘Bangladesh Offshore Model Production Sharing Contract (PSC) 2023,’ ensuring that national interests are safeguarded while considering production-sharing agreements with neighboring countries. Under this new contract, the ‘Bangladesh Offshore Bidding Round-2024’ has commenced, inviting international companies to explore and extract oil and gas in 9 shallow and 15 deep-sea blocks.
He expressed hope that the PSC for both shallow and deep-sea blocks would be signed within this year. The Blue Economy Cell, under the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources, is coordinating with relevant ministries and departments to ensure optimal utilisation of marine minerals and other resources.
Considering the importance of marine resource extraction and its fair utilisation, the finance minister proposed an allocation of Tk100 crore for research and development activities in this sector.
June 06, 2024. 04:57PM (GMT+6)
The FY25 budget proposal presented by Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali has numerous positive aspects by emphasizing strategic planning and economic stability and growth. Here are the key positive aspects of the budget proposal:
Economic Stability and Growth:
- Focus on Macroeconomic Stability: The budget is crucial for long-term economic growth. It includes efforts to control inflation and stabilize foreign currency reserves, reflecting a strategic perspective in addressing current economic challenges.
- Optimistic Growth Target: Despite global and domestic economic pressures, the budget sets an ambitious 6.75% GDP growth target. This reflects the government’s confidence in economic recovery and development initiatives.
- Inflation Control: Setting an ambitious 6.5% inflation target demonstrates a firm commitment to combating inflation, a notable aspect. It can improve citizens’ living costs and purchasing power.
Fiscal Discipline and Revenue Collection
- Reduced Budget Deficit: The effort to limit the budget deficit to 4.6% of GDP, last seen a decade ago, is a positive step towards fiscal discipline and sustainability. This is particularly important in the face of current economic challenges.
- Increased Revenue Collection: The 8.2% revenue collection growth target indicates an active effort to improve fiscal health without excessively increasing the budget size. It displays prudence and efficiency in public fund management.
- Balance between Foreign Loans and Grants: The budget articulates a balanced approach to securing funds for development while managing loan repayment obligations systematically.
Development and Infrastructure Investment
- Emphasis on Development and Infrastructure: Significant allocations for the Annual Development Program (ADP) and infrastructure projects indicate a strong commitment to improving the country’s infrastructure and overall development. This includes Tk. 265,000 crore for ADP and additional allocations for special projects and the Food for Work program.
- Strategic Shift from Investment to Savings: Ashikur Rahman (Senior Economist) has emphasized the strategic shift from an investment-oriented approach to a savings-oriented approach. This shift can help reduce inflation, decrease import demand, stabilize foreign currency reserves, and keep debt levels manageable.
Social Welfare and Public Services
- Expansion of Social Safety Nets: The budget aims to expand the coverage of social safety nets by including an additional 20.26 lakh people. This expansion will provide crucial assistance to vulnerable groups, help mitigate the impact of inflation, and improve living standards.
- Investment in Essential Services: The budget includes significant investment in essential services such as healthcare, education, and food security. For instance, initiatives to ensure food security and improve the food supply system are crucial for maintaining agricultural productivity and supporting rural livelihoods.
Technological and Economic Modernization
- Technology Accessibility: The reduction of the total tax incidence on laptops from 31% to 20% is a positive step towards making technology more accessible, meeting educational and business needs in the digital age.
Public Benefits:
- Lowering Prices of Essential Commodities: Reducing prices of essential commodities through tax exemptions and subsidies will allow the general public to reduce their daily expenses.
Increased Allocations for Education and Health:
- Education Sector Allocation: The budget has a special allocation for the education sector in the 2024-25 fiscal year, which will improve the quality of education.
- Health Sector Allocation: A special allocation has been made for the health sector to improve the healthcare system, allowing the public to access improved healthcare services.
Assistance for Farmers:
- Subsidies and Irrigation Projects: Allocations have been made for subsidies and irrigation projects in the agricultural sector, enabling farmers to increase production.
- Allocation for Agricultural Research: A special allocation has been made for agricultural research, which will aid in the development of agriculture.
Local Government Development:
- Allocation for Local Government Department: Nearly Tk. 38,809 crore (15% of ADP) has been allocated, which will improve local infrastructure and the quality of life for the public.
Strategic Economic Management
- Coordination of Economic and Monetary Policies: The coordination of economic policies with Bangladesh Bank’s monetary policy is crucial for effective economic management. This coordination helps control inflation, manage credit, and maintain foreign reserves stability, contributing to overall economic health.
- Responsive Fiscal Policy: The government’s responsiveness to changing economic situations, such as the coordination of post-COVID and post-Ukraine war policies, demonstrates an active perspective on adaptability and maintaining economic health.
June 06, 2024. 04:50PM (GMT+6)
The maximum tax-free income threshold for individual taxpayers has been kept the same as before at Tk3.5 lakh in the proposed national budget for FY2024-25.
Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali placed a Tk 7,96,900 crore budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 at the Parliament on Thursday (6 June).
“You are aware that the maximum tax-free income threshold for individual taxpayers was Taka 1 lakh 65 thousand in FY 2009-10, which has been increased to Taka 3 lakh 50 thousand in FY 2023-24 in a phased manner. I propose to keep the tax-free income thresholds of natural individual taxpayers, firms and Hindu undivided families unchanged for the financial year 2024-25,” he said during the budget speech.
“At the same time, it is proposed to increase the existing maximum tax rate from 25% to 30% for natural individual taxpayers, firms and Hindu undivided families with tax slab adjustments,” he added.
June 06, 2024. 04:45PM (GMT+6)
Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali is proposing a Tk 7,96,900 crore (approximately $7.97 billion) budget for the fiscal 2023–24 at the parliament.
In this year’s budget, depending on the facilities given and withdrawn, prices of products may increase and decrease.
Prices may go up
Phone and Internet services: The proposed increase in supplementary duty may increase SMS and call rates and internet costs.
Oils: Prices of furnace oil, lubricants, mineral lubricants, and base oil are likely to increase.
Cigarettes: The price of all types of cigarettes is set to increase. A 60 to 65.5 percent supplementary duty hike on various categories of cigarettes has been proposed.
CNG conversion kits, and cylinders: Import duty is proposed to increase from 3 percent to 5 percent on these goods. So, the expenditure may grow in this sector.
Power plants: Import duty on equipment and materials for the Rampal power plant as well as various power generating stations has been increased from 0 percent to 5 percent.
Establishments at economic zones: It has been proposed to levy a 1 percent customs duty instead of a subsidised facility (duty-free) on the import of capital machinery and construction materials in economic zones.
Air conditioners and refrigerators: Import duties on compressors and steel sheets used in AC production as well as raw materials for refrigerators have been proposed to increase. As a result, the price of air conditioners and refrigerators may increase.
Water filters: the price of household water filters may increase as the import duty on these has been proposed to increase from 10 percent to 15 percent to promote the local manufacturers.
LED bulbs: A proposed 10 percent import duty on energy-saving bulb manufacturing materials may raise the price of LED bulbs.
Cashew nuts: A 5 percent to 10 percent import duty on shelled cashew nuts has been proposed as part of safeguarding the domestic industry. So, the price of these delicacies may increase.
Other products: Prices may also increase for products such as ice cream, carbonated beverages, amusement parks, theme parks, and tourism services as the ministry also proposes VAT on these sectors.
Price May Go Down
Essential commodities: The import duty of 30 essential commodities including rice, edible oil, sugar, chickpeas, milk and wheat has been proposed to be reduced.
Aircraft Engines & propellers: VAT withdrawal on imports of aircraft engines and propellers has been proposed considering the prospect of the aviation sector.
Powdered milk: A 20 percent supplementary duty on the import of packaged powdered milk has been withdrawn. This may reduce the price of imported powdered milk.
Chocolates: Supplementary duty on the import of chocolate has been reduced from 45 percent to 20 percent. So, the price of chocolate, which is preferred by all age groups, may decrease.
Laptops: VAT has been withdrawn on the import of laptops to stop the import of used laptops. Import duty has been reduced to about 20.50 percent from 31 percent.
Motorcycles: Import duty on engine parts has been reduced which may bring down the price of motorcycles made in the country.
Dengue test kits: Exemptions of import duty, value-added tax, and advance tax on rapid dengue detection test kits, dengue re-agents, and platelet and plasma test kits for dengue treatment have been proposed.
Kidney treatment: The import duty on dialysis filters and dialysis circuit products, the most popular tools for treating kidney patients, has been reduced from 10 percent to 1 percent.
Cancer treatment: Import duty waiver on some equipment used in the treatment of cancer has been proposed.
Carpets: Import duty on polypropylene yarn, the main raw material for making carpets, has been reduced from 10 percent to 5 percent.
Electric motors: A subsidy has been proposed to increase the import of parts used in the production of electric motors.
Methanol: Methanol is one of the raw materials of industries such as medicine, washing plants, paint etc. The import duty rate has been reduced from 10 percent to 5 percent if this product is imported in bulk.
June 06, 2024. 04:40PM (GMT+6)
The government has set a revenue collection target of Taka 5,41,000 crore in the proposed national budget for 2024-2025 fiscal (FY25).
Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali revealed this target while placing the national budget for FY25 at the Jatiya Sangsad today.
“Given all these reforms and initiatives to augment revenue collection, a total of Tk. 5,41,000 crore revenue income has been estimated for FY2024-25, which accounts for 9.7 percent of the GDP,” he said.
It is proposed to collect Tk. 4,80,000 crore through the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and Tk. 61,000 crore from other sources, Ali said.
It is to be noted that in the FY 2009-10, the total tax revenue collection amounted to only Tk. 62,485 crore, which has increased nearly sixfold to Tk. 3,66,776 crore in FY2022-23.
It is anticipated that in the current FY2023-24, it will further increase to Tk. 4,29,000 crore. “Strategy papers are being prepared to maintain the momentum of such growth rate and to achieve tax-GDP ratio over 10 percent in the medium term,” he added.
Since approximately 87 percent of revenue comes from the sources of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the workforces have been increased of the National Board of Revenue to further strengthen the activities of NBR.
Besides, new income tax laws and customs laws have been enacted in 2023.
June 06, 2024. 04:30PM (GMT+6)
In the fiscal year 2024-25 budget speech, Finance Minister Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali announced an increase in the supplementary duty on mobile phone calls and internet services. Effective immediately, the supplementary duty has been raised by 5 percent, bringing the total VAT on talk time and internet services to 20 percent from the previous 15 percent. This increase will be applied at the time of mobile phone recharge.
This adjustment is expected to raise the cost of mobile phone calls and internet usage for all users. Mobile phones are widely used across various socioeconomic classes, serving as a primary means of communication and access to social media platforms such as Facebook, Messenger, and WhatsApp. Consequently, the increase in supplementary duty will affect the cost of these services.
Currently, to obtain 100 taka worth of talk time, consumers must recharge 133 taka and 25 paisa. With the new increase, this amount will rise to 139 taka for the same 100 taka talk time. For a recharge of 100 taka, 28 taka will now be deducted as duty-tax, leaving the customer with talk time equivalent to the remaining 72 taka.
The supplementary duty on mobile phone calls was first introduced at 3 percent in the 2015-16 budget and has been increased in several steps to 15 percent prior to this latest adjustment.
June 06, 2024. 04:15PM (GMT+6)
Considering the health sector as a priority, Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali today proposed an allocation of Taka 41,407 crore for Health and Family Welfare sector in the next fiscal year 2024-2025 which was Taka 38,051 crore in the fiscal year 2023-2024.
While placing the budget in next fiscal year, the finance minister said, “For advancement of the medical sector, the Father of the Nation established the Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC) in 1972 and also specified its functions.”
He said noteworthy functions include development and organization of scientific research in various disciplines of health sciences, development and streamlining of scientific research in various disciplines of health, reproductive health and nutrition to identify issues and problems related to medical and health care needs and to take measures aimed at proper application and utilization of medical research results.
Following the principles of Father of the Nation, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has undertaken and implemented extensive development programs in medical science research in the last 15 years.
Ensuring universal health and nutrition is one of the basic principles of our government, the finance minister said adding, “We are working to implement this principle. Specially, we are working diligently to build a healthy, strong and lively population by providing affordable quality Health, Nutrition and Family Welfare (HNP) services to the public.”
“We have already achieved commendable progress in the development of health, nutrition and family welfare sectors,” he also said, adding despite resource constraints, Bangladesh has demonstrated remarkable success in achieving health-related MDG targets.
“Inspired by this, we have been working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and the goals of the Perspective Plan by 2041 and ensure smart health services,” the Finance Minister added.
June 06, 2024. 04:10PM (GMT+6)
The government is optimistic that the country’s GDP growth will be 6.75% for fiscal year 2024-25, nearly one percentage point higher than the outgoing year.
Meanwhile, the inflation target has been set at 6.5%, disclosed the Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali while unveiling the Tk797,000 crore national budget today.
This projection comes despite a contractionary monetary budget, with an eye towards taming inflation.
Recently, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics projected that GDP will grow at 5.82% for the current fiscal year, down from the 7.5% projected in the budget. But after a review, the finance ministry lowered the target to 6.5%.
Just days before the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, expected to focus on curbing soaring prices, the country’s general inflation surged to a seven-month peak of 9.89%, primarily fuelled by rising food prices.
Food price inflation jumped to 10.76% in May, according to the latest data of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) released Monday (3 June). In April, food inflation rose to double digits at 10.22%.
Food inflation has stayed over 12% for three consecutive months from August last year, before subsiding to single digits by December.
Meanwhile, May’s general inflation rate was the highest since October last year at 9.93%. It was 9.74% in April. Since March 2023, the general inflation rate has remained above 9%.
With an eye towards battling inflation, Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali unveiled a TkTk 7,97,000 crore national budget for the fiscal year 2024-25.
You Can Also Read: Businesses and Public to Benefit Alike in 2024-25 Budget
June 06, 2024. 04:00PM (GMT+6)
Taxpayers will be able to whiten their black money by paying a 15% tax, according to a provision proposed in the FY24-25 budget. The Finance Minister announced this initiative during his budget speech in Parliament on Thursday.
Under this provision, no authority can raise questions if a taxpayer pays tax at fixed rates for immovable properties like flats, apartments, and land, and a 15% tax on other resources including cash, irrespective of the existing laws of the country.
The minister said in this budget speech, “I propose to add a clause on tax incentives in the Income Tax Act to provide taxpayers with an opportunity to correct errors in their income tax returns and to increase the flow of money into the mainstream economy.”
He said, “We need to provide more revenue to enable sufficient public spending while also keeping economic activity dynamic in the private sector.”
The minister also pointed out that the introduction of the Data Verification System (DVS) has led to legal complications in disclosing undisclosed income and assets of various companies. Additionally, taxpayers may inadvertently make errors in their returns, possibly due to ignorance.
To address these issues, he said, the proposed clause will allow taxpayers to rectify such errors.
Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali placed a Tk 7,96,900 crore budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 at the Parliament on Thursday (6 June).
June 06, 2024. 03:40PM (GMT+6)
The proposed budget allocation for the education sector in FY24-25 has increased both in terms of GDP and compared to the current fiscal year.
The government has allocated Tk1,09,528 crore to education, representing 13.74% of the total proposed budget of Tk7,97,000 crore.
This allocation is 24.23% higher than the current fiscal’s allocation of Tk88,162 crore, which was 11.57% of the total budget.
The proposed education budget is 1.95% of GDP, up from 1.76% the previous year.
However, this is still below the 6% of GDP that Bangladesh committed to spending on education at the UNESCO World Education Forum in Dakar in 2000.
Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali placed a Tk 7,96,900 crore budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 at the Parliament on Thursday (6 June).
The proposed budget is 4.6% larger than the current one and much lower than the year-on-year average increase of 11% seen in the last 5 years.
During the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, which brought the economy to a near halt amid worldwide lockdowns, the national budgets grew by around 9%. The budget for FY2023-24 has been 12.35% larger than the previous year’s.
Prolonged economic crisis, driven by both external and internal factors has forced the government into a tight fiscal position.
Bangladesh saw a 5.82% growth in the gross domestic product (GDP) in FY2023-24.
Under such circumstances, the government’s prime target is to contain inflation, resolve the dollar crunch and achieve moderate GDP growth.
June 06, 2024. 03:30PM (GMT+6)
With the aim of combating inflation, Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali is unveiling Bangladesh’s largest-ever proposed national budget of Tk 7.97 lakh crore for the fiscal year 2024-25. He presented this budget before the Parliament today (6 June), a significant milestone from the first budget of Tk 786 crore placed by Tajuddin Ahmad for FY 1972-73.
In May, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had approved the budget size. This marks the country’s 53rd budget and the 25th under the Awami League (AL) government across six terms. It is also the 21st budget under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s leadership in different terms.
The theme for the next fiscal year’s budget is “Pledge towards building a happy, prosperous, developed and smart Bangladesh,” aimed at reviving the economy’s previous robust state.
While new budgets typically see an increase of 10% to 12% compared to the current year, this time the increase will be less than 8%. The latest budget is contractionary, with a lowered GDP growth target of 6.7%.
