BSS, Dhaka:

The Jatiya Sangsad (JS) today passed the Taka 7,97,000 crore national budget for FY25 with a prime focus on maintaining economic stability and augmenting steps to materialise the government’s “Smart Bangladesh” vision.

Despite the global volatile condition and adversities, the budget for the next fiscal eyed a 6.75 percent GDP growth while containing the inflation within 6.50 percent.

Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali moved the Appropriations Bill, 2024 today, seeking a budgetary allocation of Taka 12,41,752 crore which was passed by voice votes.

Earlier yesterday, the parliament passed the Finance Bill, 2024 with some minor changes. Following the proposal mooted in the House by the Finance Ministry for the parliamentary approval of the appropriation of funds for meeting necessary development and non-development expenditures of the government, the ministers concerned placed justifications for the expenditure by their respective ministries through 59 demands for grants.

Earlier, the Jatiya Sangsad rejected, by voice votes, a total of 251 cut-motions that stood in the name of opposition members on 59 demands for grants for different ministries.

A total of seven MPs, including Jatiya Party’s Mujibul Huq, Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, and Independent MP Pankaj Nath, Md Hamidul Haque Khandker, Md. Abul Kalam, Md Suhrab Uddin and Md. Nasser Shahrear Zahedee, placed the cut motions.

They were, however, allowed to participate in the discussion on Law Ministry, Secondary and Higher Education Division and Social Welfare Ministry. Later, Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury quickened the process of passing the demands for grants for different ministries without giving a lunch break.

Opposition and independent MPs were present in the House when the Appropriations Bill was passed, and they did not raise any objection to the passing of the bill.

The budget size (Taka 7,97,000 crore) for FY25 is 4.60 percent or around Taka 35,215 crore higher than the budget of the outgoing fiscal FY24. The country’s GDP size has been estimated at Taka 55,97,414 crore.

The government, however, has reduced its expenditure by Taka 47,367 crore in the revised budget for the outgoing fiscal 2023-24, bringing it down to Taka 714,418 crore.

In the budget for FY24, total government expenditure was estimated at Taka 7,61,785 crore.

Apart from already approved Annual Development Programme (ADP) outlay of Taka 2,65,000 crore, the new budget saw an estimated deficit of Taka 2,56,000 crore excluding grants.

If the grants are considered, then the overall budget deficit stands at Taka 2,51,600 crore.

In the budget, a total allocation of Taka 2,06,569 crore has been earmarked for the social infrastructure, which constitutes 25.92 percent of the total allocation. For physical infrastructure, an allocation of Taka 2,16,111 crore has been made, which constitutes 27.12 percent of the total allocation.

For common service sector, an allocation of Taka 1,68,701 crore has been made, which comprises 21.17 percent of the total allocation. It is worthy of note that since 2022, the interest rate has been gradually increased with the aim of controlling inflation in the western world.