Key sectors receiving priority in the largest budget in history

ছবিঃ সংগৃহীত

Emphasis has been placed on the above sectors.

The proposed budget estimates a deficit of Tk 235,000 crore, which is 3.4% of GDP. To finance this deficit, the government plans to borrow Tk 119,000 crore from banks and savings certificates, and Tk 116,000 crore from external sources. A large portion of the annual budget expenditure on interest payments goes toward servicing loans taken from domestic banks and savings instruments. For the next fiscal year, the Ministry of Finance has estimated Tk 127,000 crore for interest payments—of which Tk 105,000 crore will be for domestic debt and Tk 22,500 crore for foreign debt.

In this regard, former Finance Secretary Mahbub Ahmed told Jugantor that for a developing country like Bangladesh, the budget size should be at least 25% of GDP. From that perspective, a Tk 930,000 crore budget is not excessive. However, in reality, it is not currently possible for the country to collect this amount as revenue. To spend such a sum, a large amount of borrowing—both domestic and foreign—will be required. He added that the country currently lacks the capacity to ensure value for money in such spending. Therefore, for the sake of financial discipline, it would be reasonable to keep this year’s budget size limited.

It has been learned that in the upcoming budget, the allocation for the Annual Development Programme (ADP) is planned to be increased by 50% compared to the revised current budget, raising it to Tk 300,000 crore. This is expected to boost public investment and employment. The target has been set to raise total investment to 31.4% of GDP in the next budget, including 24.9% from the private sector and 6.5% from the public sector.

Subsidy pressure to increase

Although the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has set conditions to reduce subsidies, officials believe that allocations in this sector will increase due to the Middle East crisis. Owing to ongoing instability in the region and rising fuel import costs, the subsidy allocation has not been fully estimated. In the next fiscal year, subsidies are expected to include Tk 37,000 crore for the power sector, Tk 6,500 crore for LNG, Tk 27,000 crore for fertiliser, and Tk 9,600 crore for food assistance. Altogether, Tk 116,125 crore has been allocated for subsidies, incentives, and cash loans, compared to Tk 112,455 crore in the revised budget of the current fiscal year.