Rejaul Karim Byron

The interim government may backtrack from its initial plan to set an ambitious GDP growth target of 6 percent for the next fiscal year amid the new economic reality and settle for 5.5 percent.

The subsidy allocation for the power sector is not going down anytime soon as the interim government does not plan to increase electricity prices on inflationary fears.

The Asian Development Bank is likely to increase its loan commitment to Bangladesh by 67 percent to $2 billion this year, up from $1.2 billion in 2024, and offer additional financing by partially canceling funds from long-delayed projects.

Bangladesh’s economy started showing signs of a turnaround in the second quarter of the fiscal year, official statistics show, although economists caution that Trump’s tariff measures are likely to slow down the momentum.

Bangladesh received a record $3.29 billion in remittances in March -- the highest monthly figure to date -- marking a 65 percent year-on-year surge.

Bangladesh’s vulnerability to natural disasters has placed significant strain on its economy and financial resources, with about $5 billion needed in the short term for relief and early recovery, according to the International Monetary Fund.

The interim government aims to balance macroeconomic stability, inflation control, and 6 percent GDP growth in the next fiscal year’s budget, when the 13th parliamentary election is expected.

The government will increase the number of beneficiaries of various social safety net schemes by at least 10 lakh from fiscal year (FY) 2025-2026, but allowances will see a small increase, although poor groups have been facing stubbornly high inflation for years.

Fertiliser subsidy will increase to Tk 28,000 crore in the revised budget, up by 64.7 percent from the original

The interim government is planning to prepare a small budget with a 6 percent GDP growth target for the next fiscal year considering the sluggish economy and low revenue collection.

Revenue collection fell significantly short of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) target in the first six months of the current fiscal year, with the floor for the fourth instalment of an ongoing $4.7 billion loan programme proving too ambitious.

For several months, food inflation had also remained in double digits

The total cost of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project is Tk 1,14,225 crore, with the majority financed by Russia.

Revision comes due to slow project implementation

Bangladesh and India began a two-day meeting to review Indian-funded projects, which have been running behind schedule.

The test run may start by the end of 2025 after a year's delay as the gridline on the Padma river is taking longer than anticipated to materialise

The government’s borrowing from domestic sources surged in the first half of FY25, primarily driven by a substantial increase in the issuance of special bonds, particularly those issued to clear arrears to electricity and fertiliser producers, as well as treasury bills (T-bills) and bonds targeting institutional and individual investors.

In a first, the ministries and divisions would be allocated more funds than they are seeking in the revised development budget for this fiscal year as the government attempts to rev up a slowing economy.

The government has set an ambitious revenue growth target in this fiscal year’s revised budget given that three major multilateral development partners are stressing ramping up domestic resource mobilisation.

The government has planned to increase foreign financing by around 15 percent and reduce bank borrowing by 28 percent in the revised budget for this fiscal year to tame inflation.