Finance minister unveils Tk 761,785cr national budget

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has unveiled the national budget of Tk 761,785 crore for the fiscal 2023–24 with an aim to build a hunger- and poverty-free, knowledge-based and developed 'Smart Bangladesh' by 2041.

The budget size for FY24 is estimated at Tk 7, 61, 785 crore, which is 15.2 percent of the GDP, Kamal said while placing the budget speech at Jatiya Sangsad on Thursday.

This is the 5th consecutive budget presented by AHM Mustafa Kamal and last of the current Awami League government.

Kamal wearing a traditional Panjabi and Pajama with a black ‘Mujib coat’ started placing his 248-page budget speech featuring power-point presentation just after 3:00 pm in presence of the leader of the house and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The budget focuses on driving the country on an incremental economic-growth matching Bangladesh’s LDC-graduation route and fulfilling the conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan of $4.7 billion.

Of the total proposed budget, Tk 475,281 crore is allocated for operating expenditures, and the rest, Tk 277,582 crore, for development purposes.

The total revenue earnings target was set at Tk 5 lakh crore, of which, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) will collect Tk 4.30 lakh crore, and the rest will be collected from other sources.

The proposed budget’s overall deficit, including grants, will be Tk 257,885 crore, which is 5.2 percent of the GDP.

The inflation target is set to 6.5 percent though the current inflation rate is over 9 percent.