Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury today said the proposed national budget for the forthcoming fiscal year (FY27) was formulated with the objective of bringing every citizen into the country's economic planning process, describing it as a departure from the exclusionary and patronage-based economic policies of the past.
Speaking at a post-budget press conference at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital this afternoon, the finance minister said the government had made an unprecedented effort to ensure that the hopes, aspirations and concerns of all sections of society were reflected in the budget.
"We have tried to bring every person into our budget thinking this time," he said. "If I am not mistaken, no class, profession, religion or community has been left outside the scope of this budget."
Earlier on yesterday, the Finance Minister placed a Taka 9.38 lakh crore national budget for the FY27 in the Jatiya Sangsad (JS).
The proposed FY27 budget, unveiled in parliament yesterday (Thursday) under the theme "Journey Towards a Democratic, Humane and Inclusive Economy," seeks to stabilize the economy, restore public confidence, expand opportunities for all citizens and lay the foundation for sustainable and inclusive growth in the years ahead.
The finance minister noted that the budget was prepared under exceptional circumstances. While budget formulation in Bangladesh generally takes around six months, the current administration had only about one and a half to two months to complete the process following the political transition and formation of the elected government, he said.
"Completing everything within one and a half to two months was a difficult task. Yet, with the cooperation of advisers, secretaries, officials and all those involved in the process, we were able to prepare the budget," he said.
He also expressed gratitude to journalists, saying members of the media had devoted significant time before the budget announcement to understand its direction and engage with policymakers on key issues.
The finance minister said the budget had been prepared in a unique political and economic context.
Referring to the country's recent democratic transition, he said the budget came after years during which public aspirations were not adequately reflected in national economic planning.
"The true spirit of a budget is to reflect the wishes and aspirations of the people. For many years, the people of Bangladesh were deprived of that opportunity," he said.
Recalling the sacrifices made during the democratic movements and the July-August uprising, he said many people had lost their lives, suffered injuries, lost jobs and businesses, or endured various forms of hardship in the struggle for democratic rights.
According to the minister, the February 12 national election provided the people with an opportunity to realize their democratic aspirations through an elected government.
He said the strong public mandate received by the government had created high expectations among citizens.
"We understand the expectations of the people. Within the limited time available to us, we have tried to talk to as many stakeholders as possible and gather opinions and inputs from different segments of society," he said.
The finance minister said the budget's overarching philosophy is economic democratization. He argued that the economy in recent years had become concentrated in the hands of a limited number of individuals and organized interest groups.
"The economy had become an economy for a few people, a few groups and a few organized interests. Those who lacked access to patronage or organized influence were often left outside economic policymaking. We have tried to bring those people into the centre of our thinking," he added.
Despite severe resource constraints, the minister said, the government had sought to ensure that all segments of society received attention through allocations, programmes and policy initiatives.
He added that the budget not only outlines policy directions but also provides implementation roadmaps to achieve its objectives.
He acknowledged that one of the biggest challenges facing the government was the difficult economic legacy it inherited. "Years of alleged resource misallocation, institutional erosion and economic distortions had weakened the country's financial position and limited the government's fiscal space," he noted.
"The challenge was how to meet high public expectations while operating within a constrained resource environment," he said.
The minister also pointed to profound changes in the global economy, saying the world had increasingly moved away from a rules-based economic order toward a more protectionist environment, while ongoing geopolitical conflicts were creating persistent uncertainty for economic planners.
"The rules-based global economic order has weakened, and wars and conflicts have become the new normal. From Ukraine to the Middle East, these developments are disrupting economic activities and making long-term planning more difficult," he observed.
According to him, these external pressures have had a particularly strong impact on Bangladesh, especially in the energy sector, while domestic economic challenges inherited from previous administrations have further complicated the situation.
Highlighting the government's development strategy, the finance minister announced that future public expenditure and project approvals would be evaluated against four key criteria.
"We have introduced four clear criteria for assessing government projects," he said.
"We have clearly stated that future projects will move forward based on these four considerations-value for money, return on investment, job creation and environmental sustainability," he said.
The minister said these criteria would help establish a more transparent, accountable and results-oriented framework for public spending and development planning.
Khosru also underscored the importance of accountability in democratic governance.
"A democratically elected government's primary responsibility is accountability to the people," he said, adding: "That is why we are here to answer questions and explain our policies to citizens through the media."
MSH
