Govt approves Tk 7.88 lakh crore revised budget

The government has approved a revised budget of Tk 7.88 lakh crore for the current fiscal year 2025-26.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Advisory Council, chaired by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, at the Chief Adviser's Office in Dhaka yesterday.

The revised budget trims Tk 2,000 crore from the original outlay of Tk 7.90 lakh crore. The annual development programme (ADP) has been cut by Tk 30,000 crore to Tk 2 lakh crore.

"This revised budget will be effective from February 1 next year," said Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to the chief adviser, while briefing reporters at the Foreign Service Academy.

Alam said revenue collection has picked up in the current fiscal year. Revenue collection growth during the July-October period stands at 26.4 percent, up from 24.1 percent in the same period last year.

In this context, the revised budget sets the revenue collection target at Tk 5.88 lakh crore for FY26, a 5 percent increase, or Tk 24,000 crore, over the original budget target of Tk 5.64 lakh crore.

Non-NBR tax targets have been raised to Tk 20,000 crore from Tk 19,000 crore, while non-tax revenue has been increased to Tk 65,000 crore from Tk 46,000 crore.

The NBR has raised its target to Tk 5.03 lakh crore from Tk 4.99 lakh crore. The revised budget also reduces the deficit to 3.3 percent of GDP, according to the press secretary.

He said the chief adviser has instructed that the budget should enhance national self-reliance. "The chief adviser said that many projects are being implemented with foreign loans. We have to gradually move away from them."

He added that the chief adviser emphasised funding projects from domestic resources.

Chief Adviser Yunus also highlighted the importance of quality education, rural development, women's empowerment, youth initiatives, and the health sector in the budget. Alam said inflation is expected to fall to 7 percent and GDP growth could reach 5 percent in the current fiscal year.

The press secretary said that the chief adviser has given special importance to education, especially improving its quality.

He said that there was a focus during the previous government on establishing new educational institutions or merely including teachers to the monthly payment order (MPO) scheme.

Meanwhile, the quality of education has declined rapidly, he said.

The press secretary said the chief adviser at the meeting placed special emphasis on youth, describing Bangladesh as a "mine of youth resources" and calling for their needs to be reflected in budget priorities.