Bangladesh unveils 50th budget worth Tk 6.03 trillion

The government has unfurled the national budget for the next fiscal year (FY) 2021-22.

Finance Minister A H M Mustafa Kamal placed the budget titled 'Jibon jibikar pradhanya diye sudriro agamir pothe Bangladesh' (Bangladesh on the path of a robust future, prioritising life and livelihood) before the Jatiya Sangsad at 3:05 pm on Thursday.

The budget, the country's 50th since the independence, is the 13th in a row by the ruling Awami League government. It is the third consecutive budget, placed by the incumbent finance minister.

The fiscal blueprint comes with a record outlay of Tk 6.03 trillion, up by over 6.0 per cent from the budget size of this FY. In the budget, Tk 3.78 trillion has been earmarked for the expenditure, while the rest Tk 2.25 trillion for the development programme.

Of the total budget, Tk 3.89 trillion will come from the National Revenue Board (NBR), non-NBR and non-tax revenue. The NBR alone will contribute Tk 3.30 trillion, an amount equivalent to the original NBR tax revenue target set for the current fiscal year.

Mr Kamal has presented the budget at a time when the economy is facing a serious impact of the coronavirus second wave, which is affecting the economy and the people.

Like the previous years, this year also the budget has been presented on PowerPoint, and documents have been made available on the website of the Finance Division -- www.mof.gov.bd.

Mr Kamal will speak at a post-budget press conference virtually tomorrow (Friday).