The interim government is going to bring about major changes in the national budget by squeezing expenditure for the forthcoming financial year of 2025-26 because of resource crunches, said officials.
It may announce a downsized outlay of Tk聽7.9 lakh crore to reduce dependency on borrowing to meet budget deficit.
Before ousting from power in the face of a mass uprising on August 5, 2024, the Awami League government had announced a Tk聽7.97 lakh crore budget for FY25.
However, in March 2025, the interim government revised down the overall layout to Tk聽7.4 lakh crore after a cut in the annual development programme by Tk聽49,000 crore to Tk聽2.16 lakh crore from initial Tk聽2.65 lakh crore.
A trimmed ADP of Tk聽2.3 lakh crore is likely to be taken for FY26, dropping unnecessary and politically motivated projects, said the officials, referring to the decisions made at an online meeting of the coordination council on macro-economy and resource management on Tuesday.
Education, health and social safety net programme are likely to be major thrust聽 areas with a view to presenting a realistic budget, added the officials.
Presided over by finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, the meeting decided to keep the budget size as well as its deficit at a tolerable level.
Officials attending the meeting said the latest projections about the forthcoming national budget were varied significantly from the ones made in the previous coordination council meeting in December 2024.
The interim government had planned to announce an expansionary budget of Tk聽8.48 lakh crore with a gross domestic product growth rate at 6 per cent.
But Tuesday鈥檚 meeting, which was attended, among others, by planning adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud and commerce adviser Sk Bashir Uddin, decided to project the GDP growth rate at 5.5 per cent, said the officials.
Inflation which has been hovering at 9 per cent is likely to be projected at 6.5 per cent, added the officials.
The officials observed that considering the overall high inflation in FY25, the next budget would not be expansionary in real term.
The ousted Awami League regime in its last budget of the 15-year rule aimed at achieving 6.75 per cent GDP growth and keeping inflation at 6 per cent.
Citing the 90-day pause on United States-imposed reciprocal tariffs, Tuesday鈥檚 meeting had a little discussion over the tariffs and their impacts on the country鈥檚 overall exports.
The finance adviser is expected to announce the national budget for FY26 on June 5 in a televised programme in the absence of a parliament.
He has already stated on a number of occasions that the new budget would be a realistic one, leaving footprints for an elected government to follow.
