Rejaul Karim Byron

Subsidies for the power sector are likely to balloon 83 percent this fiscal year as the interim government is planning to clear all arrears owed to private power producers.

As much as $670 million (around Tk 8,200 crore) from slow-moving World Bank-funded projects will be repurposed, with most of the funds going towards budget support as the government looks to navigate the narrow fiscal space amid a slowing economy.

Over half of the government’s total revenue expenditure during the first four months of the current fiscal year of 2024–25 was on interest payments alone, mainly due to increased borrowing and a rise in the interest rates.

A task force formed by the planning ministry is going to recommend the formation of an independent centre for delivering government services via social media and utilising artificial intelligence (AI).

The interim government has increased interest rates on various national savings certificates to upwards of 12 percent in an effort to make these instruments more attractive to savers and to cool inflation.

The implementation of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) in the first six months of fiscal year 2024-25 was down 19 percent year-on-year, due mainly to political unrest and delay caused by thorough scrutiny of previously approved projects.

Tk 50,002 crore was spent in the period

The International Monetary Fund is set to tighten the noose on the Bangladesh government over its dismal revenue mobilisation...

Government debt increased 13.3 percent last fiscal year to a record Tk 18.3 lakh crore, raising concerns about repayment amid the low revenue mobilisation.

The interim government is set to increase the interest rates against various savings certificates to upwards of 12 percent as it looks to provide some relief to the fixed income group squeezed by the elevated inflation.

Foreign exchange reserves are showing encouraging signs of stability due to record remittance inflows and rising exports, but private sector investment remains a concern for the government.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has outlined 20 conditions for Bangladesh to access $600 million in the second tranche of a loan for the implementation of its “Strengthening Economic Management and Governance Program”.

Two years after Bangladesh turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $4.7 billion bailout to address its worsening macroeconomic pressures, the nation stands at a crossroads.

The government has planned a Tk 8.48 lakh crore budget for the next fiscal year, up 6.3 percent from this year’s budget, as it looks to usher in a period of moderate growth and low inflation.

The planning ministry’s taskforce for sustainable development has drafted a report with proposals to fix the economic fault lines identified by the white paper on the economic state of the country and achieve moderate economic growth.

The health ministry’s development spending has dropped substantially year-on-year in the first five months of the current fiscal year, despite the interim government’s move to raise its allocation in the revised budget.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has become the first among multilateral and bilateral lenders to respond to the interim government's call for budgetary support, approving $600 million aimed at easing pressure on foreign exchange reserves and accelerating economic recovery.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has offered an additional $1 billion to Bangladesh but the government is pushing for at least $2 billion to implement the interim government’s reform agenda, narrow the deficit in the current account and shore up the dollar stockpile.

Bangladesh’s national budget for fiscal year 2024-25 is likely to be reduced by more than Tk 50,000 crore, with the entire cut expected to be made in funds meant for the annual development programme (ADP).

A total of $234 billion was siphoned off from Bangladesh between 2009 and 2023, according to the white paper on the state of the economy.