Govt Proposes Tk 8 Lakh Crore Budget with 6% Growth Target

The government has proposed a Tk 8,00,000 crore budget for FY 2025-26, targeting 6% GDP growth and 6.5% inflation. The development budget is projected between Tk 2,30,000 crore and Tk 2,40,000 crore, with a revenue target of Tk 5,85,000 crore.

The yields on treasury bills (T-bills) rose sharply as banks held back excess liquidity before Eid-ul-Fitr. The 91-day T-bill yield increased to 10.75% from 10.35%, the 182-day yield rose to 10.90% from 10.84%, and the 364-day yield jumped to 11.09% from 10.79%.

The implementation rate of Bangladesh's Annual Development Programme (ADP) in the first eight months of FY25 was the lowest in 14 years, reaching only 24.27%, a drop of 6.91 percentage points from the same period in FY24.

The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has recommended a focus on macroeconomic stability for the FY 2025-26 budget, urging measures to address inflation, stabilize the exchange rate, and ensure fiscal prudence. The interim government faces challenges such as high inflation, sluggish revenue collection, a liquidity crunch, and depleting foreign exchange reserves.

The Bangladeshi government is amending the Companies Act, 1994, to allow the formation of a One Person Company (OPC) with a minimum paid-up capital of BDT 500,000, removing the previous requirement of BDT 1 crore to BDT 50 crore in annual transactions.

In the revised FY25 budget, subsidies for power and fertilizer will surge by 57.9% to Tk 90,000 crore. Fertilizer subsidies will increase by 64.7% to Tk 28,000 crore, and power subsidies by 55% to Tk 62,000 crore, while LNG subsidies remain at Tk 6,000 crore.