Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)-Bangladesh Finance Minister AMA Muhith is placing BDT 2.95 trillion budget outlays for fiscal 2015-16 at the National Parliament of Bangladesh on Thursday.
The minister has began placing the powerpoint presentation of the budget around 3:35pm.
The aim of the gaigantic budget is to bring dynamism in the overall economic activities through improving infrastructure facilities across the country.
The Bangladesh government is likely to keep the inflation rate at 6.2 per cent for the next fiscal year.
It may set the growth of gross domestic product (GDP) at 7.0 per cent.
The size of the budget is actually over BDT 445 billion higher than that of the current fiscal year as a government high-powered committee earlier approved BDT 2.41 trillion revised budget for the outgoing FY 15, a senior government official familiar with the budget formulating process, told the BBN in Dhaka earlier.
He also said the government has been increasing its budget size as it believes that the increased allocations are playing a role in improving the infrastructure and promoting people’s welfare.
The total revenue earning target for the next fiscal year has been set at BDT 2.08 trillion, up by 27 per cent from this year’s.
Tax-revenue mobilisation in the next fiscal year has been set at more than BDT 1.76 trillion, up by BDT 266 billion from the original target BDT 1.50 trillion during the current fiscal.
The overall budget deficit has been estimated more than BDT 858 billion which will be 5.0 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Muhith will table the second budget of the present Awami League-led government since the general election took place in January 2014 in the parliament.
It will be the 16th budget of the Awami League in its four terms of governance since the independence of Bangladesh.
Earlier in the afternoon, the cabinet at its special meeting approved the budget with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at the National Parliament.
BBN/AS/ANS