THE challenge of addressing extreme poverty is both urgent and complex. While Bangladesh has made significant strides in poverty reduction since the 1990s, recent economic headwinds, including persistent inflation, global commodity price fluctuations, and post-pandemic recovery pressures, have exposed vulnerabilities of millions living just above or below...
BANGLADESH鈥橲 healthcare system has long grappled with systemic challenges: underfunding, urban-centric services, and a fragmented referral structure. Historically, health sector allocations have hovered around 5 per cent of the national budget, translating to less than 1 per cent of GDP. This chronic underinvestment, compounded by unprecedented corruption...
AS BANGLADESH unveils its national budget for the 2025鈥�26 financial year, the country stands at a defining moment. Despite repeated commitments, successive governments have failed to make significant increases in education funding. Public investment has consistently remained below the levels needed to deliver meaningful outcomes. With education funding...
EDUCATION remains the most powerful tool for individual empowerment and societal transformation. In a country like Bangladesh, where more than a third of the population is under 25, investment in education is not just a moral imperative; it is a strategic necessity. The fiscal year 2025鈥�26 budget offers a critical opportunity to reflect on the government鈥檚 priorities in this...
Leaders of Ganosamhati Andolan, a partner of 6-party alliance Ganatantra Mancha, on Wednesday said that the interim government had failed to reflect the spirits of the July uprising in the proposed budget for fiscal year 2025鈥�26 placed on Monday...
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Wednesday criticised the proposed national budget for the 2025鈥�26 financial year, labelling it 鈥榰nrealistic鈥� with 鈥榞rowth on paper鈥�, similar to that presented by the previous government...
Foreign Investors鈥� Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Zaved Akhtar on Wednesday opined that the proposed national budget for the 2025-26 financial year聽will not increase confidence level for enhancing foreign direct investment...
The Association of Mobile Telecom Operators in Bangladesh welcomed the proposed national budget for the financial year 2025-26, which was placed by the interim government on Monday...
Rangpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RpCCI) president Md Akbar Ali has said the proposed national budget for the fiscal 2025-26 will play a positive role in curbing inflation and improving the overall living standard across the country.
The Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday hoped that the proposed budget would play a significant role in providing financial stability and inclusive development.
Finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed on Tuesday said that they might drop the undisclosed money legalisation facility from the measures proposed in the national budget for the 2025-26 financial year.
THE budget for the 2026 financial year that the finance adviser to the interim government has proposed appears rhetorical, with largely no direction on how to achieve the goals that the budget puts forth. The interim government, which assumed office in August 2024 against the backdrop of a student led mass uprising that had sprung from protests against...
Businesses and experts have said that the proposed national budget for the 2025-26 financial year was overly ambitious, particularly regarding revenue targets, private investment, inflation control and GDP growth...
The proposed national budget for the 2025鈥�26 financial year lacked the structural boldness and holistic approach needed to bring Bangladesh out of its current economic distress, said the Centre for Policy Dialogue, a local think tank, on Tuesday.
The interim government proposed to allocate Tk 1,16,731 crore in the social security sector for the financial year 2025-26, reducing the sector鈥檚 allocation by almost 15 per cent.
The government has allocated of Tk 2,956 crore to the Election Commission Secretariat in the proposed national budget for the聽 financial year 2025鈥�26.
The interim government has limited the scope in the new budget for legalising undisclosed money, while proposing an increase in the income tax threshold from the 2026鈥�27 financial year.聽聽聽
The overall allocation for the power and energy sector has been reduced by more than a fourth compared with the fund allocated in the outgoing financial year鈥檚 budget, with the interim government announcing on Monday its plan of reducing power production costs by 10 per cent.
Economists have observed that the proposed national budget for the 2025鈥�26 financial year lacks the structural depth needed to address Bangladesh鈥檚 long-standing economic challenges.
Political party leaders sharply criticised the proposed national budget for the financial year 2025鈥�26, terming it routine, unimaginative and structurally flawed.
An allocation of Tk聽2,60,767 crore has been proposed for the gender-relevant budget and Tk聽5,078 crore for the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs in the financial year 2025鈥�2026, both marking a decrease from the FY 2024-25...
The government in its Tk 7,90,000 crore national budget for financial year 2025鈥�26 has proposed both reduction of VAT, tax and duties on a number of items, while their increase on some others.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) said that the targets in the proposed national budget for financial year 2025-26 are positive but ambitious, given the current economic conditions marked by high interest rates and investment constraints...
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association welcomed the Tk聽7.9 lakh crore national budget for FY 2025鈥�26, acknowledging its focus on inclusive and sustainable development amid a post-political transition landscape...
The interim government on Monday announced the new national budget at Tk 7.9 lakh crore, projecting ambitious revenue-earning measures to keep the deficit at tolerable 3.6 per cent.
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Taskeen Ahmed in his initial budget reaction on Monday said that the proposed budget is not as much friendlier for businesses and investment expansion as expected by the business community...
The government has proposed raising the excise duty exemption limit on bank deposits from Tk聽1 lakh to Tk聽3 lakh for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
The government has proposed to borrow Tk 1.04 lakh crore from the banking system in the upcoming financial year 2025-26, marking a 5-per cent increase from the revised bank borrowing target of Tk 99,000 crore for the current financial year.
The interim government has targeted to bring down inflation to 6.5 per cent in the 2025鈥�26 financial year despite the current inflation level remaining above 9 per cent.
The government has widened the corporate tax gap between listed and non-listed companies from the existing 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent in the proposed national budget for the fiscal year 2025鈥�26.