The national budget for the fiscal year 2025–26 is set to be passed today (Sunday). The new budget will come into effect from July 1 and remain in force for the next one year. Before its implementation, it will receive approval from the Advisory Council and be enacted through a presidential ordinance.
The budget will be approved at a meeting of the Advisory Council at 10 am today at the Chief Adviser’s Office in Tejgaon. Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus will preside over the meeting, which will be attended by all advisers.
According to the Ministry of Finance, this approval process is being followed due to the current absence of a functioning national parliament in the country.
On June 2, Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed presented the interim government’s first budget on Bangladesh Television under the theme “Commitment to Building an Inclusive and Sustainable Economic System.” The proposed budget size is Tk 7,90,000 crore (790,000 crore), which is Tk 7,000 crore less than the original budget for the ongoing 2024–25 fiscal year. The current government views this as a contractionary budget.
Sources indicate that this year’s budget includes a provision to legalise undeclared income in the housing sector. However, it will not be labeled as “black money,” but instead as “undisclosed income.” The government made this decision following widespread discussions and criticism after the budget announcement.
Due to the absence of a functioning parliament, the government also sought public opinion on the budget through an online platform. Citizens were able to submit feedback until June 19. A consolidated report of these opinions will be presented for final approval at today’s council meeting.
According to sources, the proposed budget for FY 2025–26 allocates Tk 113,500 crore for interest payments. Expenditures on salaries, allowances, and subsidies will remain unchanged from the current fiscal year. The budget deficit is set to remain below 5% of GDP.
In his budget speech, Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed explained that the government was forced to reduce the overall budget size due to increased costs for interest payments and lower-than-expected revenue collection.
For the upcoming fiscal year, the proposed budget projects a deficit of Tk 226,000 crore, equivalent to 3.6% of GDP. To finance the shortfall, the government plans to borrow Tk 125,000 crore from domestic sources and Tk 101,000 crore from foreign sources. In contrast, the original budget for the current fiscal year projected a deficit of Tk 256,000 crore, or 4.6% of GDP.
The GDP growth target for FY2025–26 is set at 5.5%, which remains unchanged. For the current fiscal year, the target was 6.75%. The government also aims to bring down inflation to 6.5% by the end of the next fiscal year — the same as this year’s target.