Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury today (15 June) placed the revised and supplementary budget for fiscal year 2025-26 in parliament, proposing total expenditure of Tk7.88 lakh crore and a budget deficit of Tk2 lakh crore.
The proposed deficit is equivalent to 3.3% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The finance minister presented the revised and supplementary budget on the seventh day of the second session of the 13th National Parliament.
In his budget speech, he said the government’s net expenditure in the original FY26 budget was estimated at Tk7.9 lakh crore.
However, due to slower implementation of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) during the pre-election period, total expenditure has been reduced by Tk2,000 crore in the revised budget.
He said revitalising the economy by overcoming global uncertainties and domestic economic weaknesses remains one of the government’s top priorities following its formation.
To that end, the government has taken measures to prevent wasteful spending, reduce expenditure in non-priority sectors and maintain administrative austerity, he added.
The finance minister said subsidies in the power and energy sectors had been adjusted, while social safety net programmes, including the Family Card and Farmer Card schemes, as well as honorariums for imams, priests and muezzins, had been expanded.
He said expenditure and deficit estimates in the supplementary budget had been adjusted to accommodate the costs of these programmes.
Following the budget presentation, Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad initiated voting on demands for grants relating to expenditure other than charged expenditure for FY26.
He said that under Article 89 of the Constitution, charged expenditure may be discussed in parliament but is not subject to voting.
The speaker informed the House that the supplementary budget contains 25 demands for grants. Opposition lawmakers submitted 304 cut motions against these demands.
Considering time constraints, cut motions relating to eight ministries and divisions, including the Finance Division, Planning Division, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Science and Technology, Local Government Division, Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Food and the Anti-Corruption Commission, will be discussed. The remaining demands will be disposed of through voting.
Source: https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/revised-fy26-budget-sets-expenditure-tk788-lakh-crore-deficit-tk2-lakh-crore-1463856
