Bangladesh’s approach to budgeting for health and education has come under sharp scrutiny, as decades of allocations have primarily gone towards construction. Meanwhile, the core of these sectors, service delivery, has been historically neglected.

Bangladesh’s upcoming national budget, set to be unveiled by the interim government in June, could mark a rare departure from past fiscal cycles.

In a country weighed down by high inflation, dwindling fiscal space and weak investments, now is not the time for illusions.

Bangladesh’s national budget is now shrinking in relative size even as the government struggles to deliver on its development commitments.

Bangladesh’s fiscal deficit is projected to remain above 4 percent of GDP through 2026, as revenue growth continues to fall short of expanding public expenditure.

The interim government is set to slash the development budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2025-26 by 14 percent year-on-year, as it struggles with limited fiscal space and steers away from costly mega-projects.

The next budget may be slightly smaller than the current fiscal year’s, but non-development spending is expected to rise by over 5 percent due to higher debt servicing costs, food subsidies, and a special allocation for bank reforms.

The interim government (IG) is set to present its FY26 budget on June 2. The anticipation is that their budget will depart from the past.

It is expected that the upcoming national budget will address the economic well-being of the poor.

The plan comes as $42.85b foreign funds remained unused at start of current FY

The government’s revenue collection and spending targets for fiscal year (FY) 2025-26 have been set in line with the recommendations of a taskforce given the task of developing strategies to boost the economy, according to the finance ministry.

The new target has raised eyebrows, given the underwhelming performance in revenue collection so far

Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed yesterday said the interim government will not incorporate any mega projects that cost billions of dollars in the next budget for FY2025-26.

Restoring macroeconomic stability should be the top priority for policymakers amid a challenging environment for the interim government, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) wrote in its budget recommendations yesterday.

The interim government yesterday approved a Tk 226,125 crore revised Annual Development Programme (ADP), while the health sector saw more than a 50 percent reduction in its original allocation despite being a priority sector.