Rejaul Karim Byron

Most of the mega development projects were already behind schedule before the pandemic. Then came several months of shutdown, deteriorating the situation to a great extent.

The next budget is likely to see an increase in allocation for food purchase amid coronavirus crisis as the government plans to earmark Tk 18,197 crore to buy 32.11 lakh tonnes of foodgrains for distribution among the poor and low-income groups.

Bangladesh has pledged to use the emergency assistance from the International Monetary Fund transparently and effectively, ensure fiscal discipline and prioritising addressing banking sector problems as it secured $732 million from the crisis lender to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

Between a rock and a hard place is where Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal finds himself in as he is set to unveil his second budget on June 11.

The government will set up isolation and critical care units in district hospitals all over the country as part of its efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Two projects worth Tk 2,492 crore chalked out as part of the government’s plan to fight the pandemic will be tabled in today’s meeting of the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec).

Inflation fell 61 basis points to 5.35 per cent in May from a month earlier owing to a drastic fall in food prices caused by a collapse in demand because of the coronavirus pandemic.

That the subsidy expenditure would go up next fiscal year as the government scrambles to keep the pandemic-induced recession from undoing decades of progress in alleviating poverty and elevating its citizens into the middle-class -- was a given.

The optics look perfect. The global lender of last resort coming to the rescue of a not-too-well-endowed country struggling with the economic impact of the pandemic with no strings attached.

The government may allow uses of untaxed or black money in all sectors to boost investment and create jobs as part of its efforts to pull the economy out of Covid-19 wreckage.

New job postings nosedived 87 percent year-on-year in April on the leading job search sites in Bangladesh, highlighting the strain the country’s labour market has been going through because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The budgetary allocation for safety net programmes would see a major uptick in the next fiscal year as the government looks to widen the number of beneficiaries struggling to make ends meet because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Bangladesh is on course to availing $250 million in loans from the World Bank this fiscal year to bring in reforms to address jobs challenges by modernising trade and investment environment, strengthening systems that protect workers and improving policies that enhance access to jobs for vulnerable populations.

In an uncharacteristic gesture of goodwill, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) yesterday approved $250 million in loans as budget support to Bangladesh to cope with the economic impact of the global coronavirus pandemic.

Revenue collection crashed more than 55 per cent in April, revealing the massive hit the Bangladesh economy has taken from the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

The government appears to have paid heed to the growing calls for a bigger health budget, with its allocation from the annual development programme soaring 28.92 per cent next fiscal year, the highest amongst the 12 sectors.

The government may increase the tax-free income limit for individual taxpayers after five years in fiscal 2020-21 to give relief to people in the lower-income bracket such that they can manage the economic hardship brought on by the pandemic better, said officials of the finance ministry yesterday.

Bangladesh’s plan for significant coal- and LNG-fired power plant additions will cause substantial overcapacity, with major financial implications, said a new study.

The National Board of Revenue plans to introduce e-payment for value-added tax on a pilot basis from June to automate the VAT system and administration, ease the hassles faced by businesses and reduce the time and the cost of compliance.

The country’s import decreased 62 per cent year-on-year to $1.95 billion in April as industrial production has almost come to a halt due to the ongoing shutdown to tackle the spread of the coronavirus.