C T Online Desk: SANGSAD BHABAN, June 6, 2024- Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali today placed a Taka 7,97,000 crore national budget for the coming fiscal with a prime focus on maintaining economic stability and augmenting steps to materialise the government’s “Smart Bangladesh” vision.
The proposed budget during the new tenure of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government tended to contain inflation as it appears to be major challenge in the existing global and domestic scenario.
“(But) this land, hallowed by immeasurable sacrifice and selflessness, has repeatedly stood resilient against all odds with unwavering conviction leveraging the collective endeavors of the people,” he said.
The Finance Minister said un-daunting people of Bangladesh are today the brave warriors of the irresistible march towards progress, awakened by the spirit of the great Liberation War.
Ali announced that the vision of ‘Smart Bangladesh’ would be realised through the integration of cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence and emphasised four key pillars – Smart Citizens, Smart Economy, Smart Government, and Smart Society.
The finance minister started placing the budget at 3 pm at the Jatiya Sangsad in presence of the Leader of the House and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina while Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury chaired the budget session.
The 210-page budget speech titled “March Towards Smart Bangladesh Following the Path of Sustainable Development” highlighted 11 chapters including one for the pledge for building happy, prosperous, developed and smart Bangladesh.
Attired in a suite Ali delivered his maiden budget speech spanning nearly one and a half hour also proposing measures to maintain macroeconomic stability and enhance revenues amid the global uncertainties.
“The budget for the FY2024-25 has been prepared with a firm commitment to sustaining this trend in the future,” he said.
This is the country’s 53rd budget and the 25th of the Awami League (AL) government in six terms. This budget is also the 21st under the rule of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in different terms.
Tajuddin Ahmad presented the country’s first budget as finance minister of the post-independence Bangabandhu government in 1972.
Ali said considering the current global political landscape and the state of the domestic macro economy, the government decided to take time-befitting fiscal sector reforms like digital transformation, tax net expansion and collection of non-tax revenue.
He, however, said administrative capacity was needed to be ensured for adequate resource mobilization.
A career diplomat by background Ali, who previously served as ministers for Disaster Management and Relief and Foreign Affairs, eyed for building a ‘Smart Bangladesh’ despite various obstacles and adversities.
Ali projected that under ‘Smart Bangladesh’, the country’s per capita income would reach at least $12,500, with less than 3 percent of the population living below the poverty line, and extreme poverty eradicated.
Despite the global volatile condition and adversities, Ali eyed a 6.75 percent GDP growth while containing the inflation at 6.50 percent.
The general point to point inflation is still hovering slightly below the double digit mark albeit various efforts from the government to tame it.
The proposed budget size of Taka 7,97,000 crore is 4.60 percent or around Taka 35,215 crore higher than the budget of the outgoing fiscal FY24). The country’s GDP size has been estimated at Taka 55,97,414 crore.
The government, however, has reduced its expenditure by Taka 47,367 crore in the revised budget for the outgoing fiscal 2023-24, bringing it down to Taka 714,418 crore.
In the budget for FY24, total government expenditure was estimated at Taka 7,61,785 crore.
