Mohammad Zafar Iqbal: The budget of Tk 7 lakh 97 thousand crore has been announced in the National Parliament for the financial year 2024-25. Finance Minister Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali presented this budget through the recitation of the Holy Quran yesterday on Thursday at 3 pm. Compared to the proposed budget of the current fiscal year, the deficit in the next fiscal year’s budget is estimated to be Tk 5,785 crore. Without grants, the budget deficit has been estimated at two lakh 56 thousand crores. However, the overall deficit including grants will stand at Tk 2 lakh 51 thousand 600 crore. In other words, the target of receiving a grant of Tk 4,400 crore has been set for the next financial year. The Cabinet has approved this proposed budget earlier. The budget proposal was approved in the special meeting. The motto of this budget is ‘Pledge to build a happy, prosperous, developed and smart Bangladesh.’ The Finance Minister presented this budget in a two-hour long budget speech. Later, the session of the National Parliament was adjourned till 11 o’clock on June 9. This is the 53rd budget of the country and the 25th budget of the Awami League-led government.
Speaker of the National Parliament. Finance Minister Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali presented this budget proposal under the chairmanship of Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury and in the presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. As per the earlier practice, the budget was approved in a cabinet meeting around 2 pm before it was presented to the National Assembly. The president signed the proposal. Sahabuddin. After passing the parliament, the new financial year will start from July 1.
In the proposed budget, the target of total income has been fixed at 5 lakh 41 thousand crores. The deficit has been estimated at 2 lakh 56 thousand crores. The GDP growth target in the budget is 6.75 percent and the average rate of inflation is 6.50 percent. 2 lakh 65 thousand crores have been allocated for the next Annual Development Program (ADP). Out of the income from revenue receipt tax in the budget, the income from tax controlled by National Board of Revenue (NBR) and non-NBR tax is Tk 4 lakh 95 thousand crore. Out of the total income, 4 lakh 80 thousand crores will come through the National Board of Revenue (NBR). And 15 thousand crores of income will come from non-NBR tax. In addition, tax-free receipts will be Rs. 46 thousand crores.
The government has chosen the banking sector as the main source of hope to meet the huge budget deficit. The government has set a target to take a bank loan of Tk 1 lakh 37 thousand 500 crore to meet the deficit. This number is 5 thousand 105 crore more than the target of the current financial year. In the budget of the current financial year, the government had set a target of taking a loan of 1 lakh 32 thousand 395 crores from the banking system.
However, in the revised target it has been increased to Tk 1 lakh 55 thousand 935 crore.
Budget Size and Income-Expenditure: The final budget size (expenditure) of the proposed 2024-2025 financial year is estimated at 7 lakh 97 thousand crores. The target of total income has been set at 5 lakh 41 thousand crores. The deficit has been estimated at 2 lakh 56 thousand crores.
GDP Growth and Inflation in the Budget: Commodity market has been riding for a long time. Common people are struggling to run their families. In such a situation, the government has set a target of reducing inflation to 6.5 percent in the proposed budget for the upcoming financial year 2024-25. However, inflation has been above 9 percent for the past 14 months. The growth of gross domestic product (GDP) in the next fiscal year has been fixed at 6.75 percent, which was 7.5 percent in the current fiscal year. Later it was reduced to 6 and a half percent. However, the World Bank has predicted that the GDP growth in the current financial year could be a whopping 5.6 percent. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected growth around the same.
Size of ADP in the budget: Tk 2 lakh 65 thousand crores have been allocated for the next Annual Development Program (ADP).
How will the income of the budget come: In the budget, the income from revenue receipt tax has been estimated at 5 lakh 41 thousand crores. Out of this, the income through taxes controlled by National Board of Revenue (NBR) and non-NBR taxes is Tk 4 lakh 95 thousand crores. Out of the total income, 4 lakh 80 thousand crores will come through the National Board of Revenue (NBR). And the income from non-NBR tax will be Tk 15 thousand crore. One lakh 75 thousand 620 crores will come from income tax, profit and capital tax among NBR targets. Besides, 1 lakh 82 thousand 783 crore from VAT, 64 thousand 278 crore from supplementary duty, 49 thousand 464 crore from import duty, 70 crore from export duty, 5 thousand 805 crore from excise duty and 1 thousand 980 crore from other taxes. The target of Rs. Besides drug duty, vehicle duty, land revenue, stamp and surcharge including 15 thousand crores from related sectors. In addition, tax-free receipts will come to Tk 46,000 crore.
How the budget deficit will be met: The total deficit in the budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 has been estimated at 2 lakh 56 thousand crores. Sources of financing to meet this shortfall will be internal and external loans and grants. Out of this, 1 lakh 27 thousand 200 crores will be borrowed from foreign sources. Where the net debt amount is estimated at 90 thousand 700 crores. In addition, foreign grants have been estimated at 4 thousand 400 crores. There is a plan to borrow Tk 1.60 thousand 900 crore from domestic sources. 1 lakh 37 thousand 500 crore rupees will be taken from the banking sector out of internal loans. 23 thousand 400 crores of credit will be provided from the non-banking sector. Out of this, 15,400 crores will be borrowed from savings certificates and 8,000 crores will be taken from other sectors.
Expenditure on loan interest payment: In the next budget, the government will have to spend 1 lakh 13 thousand 500 crores only on interest payment. While 93 thousand crore rupees will be spent on the interest payment of domestic debt, 20 thousand 500 crore rupees will be spent on foreign loan interest payment. As a result, only 20 percent of the total budget will go to pay interest.
How much allocation are the ministries-departments? : Finance Minister Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali has presented the proposed budget of Tk 7 lakh 97 thousand crore for the financial year 2024-25 in the National Parliament. Separate allocations have been proposed for ministries and departments. President’s Office 33, Jatiya Sangsad 347, Prime Minister’s Office 4 thousand 600, Cabinet Department 122, Bangladesh Supreme Court 248, Election Commission Secretariat 1 thousand 230, Ministry of Public Administration 5 thousand 377, Bangladesh Public Works Commission 166, Finance Department 2 lakh 48 thousand 205, Office of the Auditor General and Controller of Bangladesh 290, Internal Resources Division 3 thousand 217, Financial Institutions Division 3 thousand 418, Economic Relations Division 21 thousand 308, Planning Division 6 thousand 492, Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division 195, Statistics and Information Management Division 662 , Ministry of Commerce 932, Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1 thousand 726, Ministry of Defense 42 thousand 315, Department of Armed Forces 46, Department of Law and Justice 2 thousand 22, Department of Public Security 26 thousand 877, Department of Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs 45, Ministry of Primary and Mass Education 38 thousand 819, Department of Secondary and Higher Education 44 thousand 108, Ministry of Science and Technology 13 thousand 573, Department of Health Services 30 thousand 125, Department of Information and Communication Technology 2 thousand 872, Ministry of Social Welfare 12 thousand 869, Ministry of Women and Child Affairs 5 thousand 222, Labor and Employment The ministry is getting an allocation of Tk 463 crore.
On the other hand, Ministry of Housing and Public Works 6 thousand 929, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting 1 thousand 108, Ministry of Culture 779, Ministry of Religious Affairs 2 thousand 602, Ministry of Youth and Sports 2 thousand 212, Local Government Department 45 thousand 206, Rural Development and Cooperative Department 1 thousand 346, Ministry of Industry 2 thousand 510, Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Foreign Employment 1 thousand 217, Ministry of Textiles and Jute 574, Department of Energy and Mineral Resources 1 thousand 87, Ministry of Agriculture 27 thousand 214, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock 4 thousand 288, Environment , the Ministry of Forests and Climate Change is getting 2 thousand 130 crores, the Ministry of Lands is getting allocation of 2 thousand 505 crores.
Apart from this, Ministry of Water Resources 11 thousand 194, Ministry of Food 6 thousand 757, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief 11 thousand 3, Road Transport and Highways Department 38 thousand 143, Ministry of Railways 18 thousand 72, Ministry of Shipping 11 thousand 270, Civil Air Transport and Ministry of Tourism 5 thousand 695, Department of Posts and Telecommunications 2 thousand 420, Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts 1 thousand 400, Electricity Department 29 thousand 230, Ministry of Liberation War 7 thousand 474, Anti Corruption Commission 191, Bridge Department 7 thousand 318, Technical and Madrasa Education The government is allocating Tk 11 thousand 783 crores to Department 11 thousand 783, Security Services Department 4 thousand 137 and Health Education and Family Welfare Department 11 thousand 282 crores.
Projects that are gaining importance: Finance Minister Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali said that 11 issues have been prioritized in the budget of the fiscal year 2024-25. In this context, he said, special priority will be given to all the necessary activities to transform Bangladesh into a developed, prosperous and smart country by 2041. He said, in order to implement the pledges we have made in this year’s election manifesto to build a developed, prosperous, smart Bangladesh, with the aim of ensuring suitable employment for all the able-bodied, development of agriculture, expansion of investment and industry, right to proper health and education, etc., besides providing protection to people’s quality of life. will be Above all, the main goal of our budget this year will be to lay the foundation for the implementation of the promises made in the election manifesto.
The issues that have been prioritized in this year’s budget are- 1. Protecting economic stability 2. Ensuring a supportive learning environment for science education, scientific research and innovation 3. Providing necessary support to agriculture sector and ensuring food security 4. Improving and expanding basic health services 5. Ensuring youth training and self-employment arrangements 6. Use of technology at all levels including digitizing all possible services 7. Development of physical infrastructure, optimal utilization of marine resources, ensuring financial sector discipline 8. Eradicate extreme poverty by 2031 and reduce general poverty to three percent by 2041 9. Ensuring supportive environment for industrial establishment and investment 10. 11. Taking action to combat the effects of climate change. To develop public welfare oriented, accountable, efficient and smart administration and continue zero tolerance policy against corruption.
Big budget for sports: The finance minister is presenting the biggest budget proposal in the history of the country for the financial year 2024-25. A total budget of Tk 2,211 crore 95 lakh has been proposed for the running and development expenditure of the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Which is the record budget proposal in sports history. Out of this, 1 thousand 234 crore 8 lakh taka has been spent in the development sector and 977 crore 87 lakh taka in the management sector. In the revised budget for the fiscal year 2023-24, the amount of development sector was 601 crore 69 lakh taka and the amount of management sector was 921 crore 65 lakh 66 thousand taka. In total, the total revised budget of the Ministry of Youth and Sports in the last financial year was 1 thousand 523 crore 34 lakh 66 thousand taka. That is, this year’s proposed budget is Tk 688 crore 60 lakh 34 thousand more than last year’s revised budget.
2024-25 budget at a glance: This year’s budget is 7 lakh 97 thousand crores. That is, the government wants to increase the expenditure in the new financial year by about 36 thousand crores compared to the previous year (2023-24). The size of the budget for the financial year 2023-24 was 7 lakh 61 thousand crores. The highest priority in this year’s budget is to control inflation. There is also the challenge of improving the foreign exchange reserve situation and increasing the revenue. In the next financial year, the maximum expenditure will be 1 lakh 29 thousand crores in interest payment, 1 lakh 12 thousand crores in subsidy and 1 lakh crores in salary and pension of government officials. As per the target, the new budget will have a large deficit even if the revenue is collected. To meet the deficit, there is a plan to take a loan of 2 lakh 56 thousand crores from domestic and foreign sources. Which is 4.6 percent of GDP. The government wants to take Tk 1 lakh 37 thousand 500 crore from the bank to meet the deficit. 15 thousand 400 crores want to take loan from savings certificate. And the target of foreign debt has been fixed at 1 lakh 27 thousand 200 crores. The government has to borrow more than ever to fund the budget. As a result, the debt repayment pressure is increasing. In addition, the dollar-crisis and the high value of the dollar have put more pressure on the government to repay the debt. For the next financial year, the interest payment target has been fixed at 1 lakh 13 thousand 500 crores.
Finance Minister’s statement: In the budget speech, Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali said that the vision of building ‘Smart Bangladesh’ is 2041. In that ‘Smart Bangladesh’ the per capita income will be at least 12 thousand 500 US dollars. The finance minister has shown huge expectations in terms of per capita income while presenting the budget. According to his hope, from 2041, a Bangladeshi will earn 14 lakh 66 thousand 250 taka per year. Although the current per capita income is $2,784, last fiscal year it was $2,749. As a result, it increased by 35 dollars during the year. At present the per capita income in terms of money is 3 lakh 6 thousand 144 taka, which was 2 lakh 73 thousand 360 taka last financial year. According to BBS, the per capita income was $2,591 in the fiscal year 2020-21 and $2,793 in the fiscal year 2021-22.
The finance minister said that in smart Bangladesh, less than 3 percent will be below the poverty line. Extreme poverty will come down to zero. Inflation will be limited to between 4 and 5 percent. Budget deficit will be below 5 percent of GDP, revenue-GDP ratio will be above 20 percent. Investment will rise to 40 percent of GDP.
He said, 100% digital economy and science and technology based signature will be achieved. Healthcare will reach everyone’s doorstep. All services required by the citizens will be at hand, including automatic communication system, sustainable urbanization. Paperless and cashless society will be created. The main goal behind all this is to build a happy society based on equality and justice.
In the budget speech, Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali also said that steps are being taken to increase the amount of revenue to 10 percent of the GDP, increase administrative capacity, expand the tax collection and automation of tax collection and revenue management and reduce the human interface.
The Finance Minister started his budget speech by paying tribute to the martyrs of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with his family members. Building a smart and advanced Bangladesh, overcoming the economic crisis arising from the Russia-Ukraine war, successful implementation of the incentive packages given by the Prime Minister to combat Covid-19, completion of mega projects, expansion of social security coverage, massive employment generation, subsidies in the agricultural sector, above all, the high growth rate continues. He said that the budget for the financial year 2024-2025 has been prepared taking into account the retention. In the budget speech, the finance minister highlighted various development activities of the current government.
Regarding the proposed revenue, he said that the total revenue is estimated at Tk 545,400 crore in the fiscal year 2024-2025. Out of this, revenue receipts amount to Tk 541 thousand crore and foreign grants amount to Tk 4400 crore. On the other hand, highlighting the amount of proposed expenditure, the finance minister said that the budget size for the financial year 2024-2025 has been estimated at 7 lakh 97 thousand crores. A total of Tk 4 lakh 68 thousand 983 crore has been proposed to be allocated to management and other sectors and Tk 2 lakh 65 thousand crore has been proposed for the annual development program.
In the budget speech, the finance minister said that the people of this country are the true claimants of all our glorious achievements. Utilizing this manpower, today we are running at an unstoppable speed under the visionary and strong leadership of the Prime Minister. By already fulfilling all the necessary conditions, we have confirmed the transition to the ranks of developing countries in 2026. Now it’s time to move forward.