Rejaul Karim Byron

Bangladesh will need to make substantial progress on domestic reforms aimed at addressing its deep-rooted structural weaknesses if it is to get a three-year extension to the timeline of its graduation from the least-developed country category, said the UN Committee for Development Policy.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) yesterday approved a Tk 4,189 crore project to build supporting infrastructure for the Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone (CEIZ) in Chattogram’s Anwara.

The gas subsidy has more than trebled this fiscal year, along with subsidies for electricity and fertiliser, due to costly purchases from the international spot market as a result of the Iran war.

As much as 43.2 percent of the allocation under the social safety net overhead for the next fiscal year will go towards government employees’ pensions and agricultural subsidies.

The proposed budget for FY2026-27 has earmarked Tk 44,000 crore for partial implementation of the new pay structure for government employees, although the government has yet to specify how it will be rolled out.

Tk 55,000cr additional allocation under public service head

The government is set to place education and health at the centre of its spending plan for the next fiscal year, with the combined allocation for the two sectors likely to rise by nearly 63 percent from this fiscal year’s revised budget.

The Asian Development Bank has shortlisted nine projects to fund in 2027 and 10 in 2028 involving a total of $3.8 billion as part of its proposed Integrated Growth Network Development (IGND) initiative.

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About one-fourth of the upcoming fiscal year’s budget will go towards five ministries and divisions including health, education and defence, with a significant portion kept as block allocations to undertake projects in line with the BNP’s electoral pledges.

The government is setting aside Tk 1,45,000 crore in the next fiscal year’s programme for social safety net schemes, up 14.4 percent year-on-year, with about 9.7 percent of the sum going towards the BNP’s flagship Family Card programme.

The government will allocate Tk 1,26,125 crore for subsidies and incentives in the upcoming fiscal year’s budget, with 55 percent going towards electricity and fertiliser.

The government is planning to form a high-level committee to implement and monitor the action plans it has committed to the United Nations Committee for Development Policy (UN CDP), as part of efforts to ensure a smooth graduation from the least developed country (LDC) group.

The government expects the country’s gross foreign currency reserves to hit a record $51.4 billion by the end of next fiscal year, provided that remittance inflow is strong and interest rates high.

The government is setting a high growth target for the next fiscal year, banking on the possibility of stability returning to the Middle East by June next year and the expansionary fiscal and monetary policies being pursued.

The government is set to move away from its reliance on domestic borrowing to fund the budget deficit next fiscal year and go for foreign borrowing in a bid to free up resources for the private sector and contain inflationary pressures, according to the draft budget plan.

The Asian Development Bank will provide $5 billion to Bangladesh over the next five years to implement a special 20-year economic corridor plan that would create jobs, improve connectivity and promote more balanced regional growth.

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