The government has been consistently taking effective steps to improve people’s living standards and revitalise the economy, with restructuring the economy amid global instability, internal weaknesses, and high inflation being a key priority, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury told parliament on Monday.
Delivering his concluding speech on the supplementary budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year, the finance minister said efforts continue to reduce wastage in every area of government expenditure, cut non-priority expenses, and ensure frugality in administrative costs.
While subsidies in the power and energy sectors had to be adjusted due to global conditions, the government has expanded social protection programmes, he said.
Social safety nets have been further strengthened through Family Cards, Farmer Cards, and honorariums for imams, priests, and muezzins. Some adjustments to expenditure and deficit have been made in the supplementary budget to implement these activities, he added.
The finance minister said net government expenditure in the original budget for 2025-26 was set at Tk7,90,000 crore. However, as the pace of government spending and ADP implementation slowed during the pre-election period, the revised budget proposes reducing expenditure by Tk2,000 crore toTk7,88,000 crore.
The budget deficit in the revised budget has been proposed at Tk2,00,000 crore, equivalent to 3.3 percent of GDP.
Allocations for 27 ministries, divisions, and institutions have increased in the revised budget, amounting to Tk56,117.59 crore, while allocations for 35 ministries and divisions have been reduced by Tk59,348.67 crore, the minister said.
Thanking MPs for their discussion on the supplementary budget, the finance minister said members provided important opinions and suggestions through lively and constructive discussions, which will aid government policy-making.
Through the Speaker, the finance minister called on all MPs to approve the requested grants for expenditures other than the charged expenditures outlined in the supplementary financial statement.
