Finance Minister Presents Budget in Parliament

Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury has begun presenting the budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year in parliament. He started presenting the budget at 3:00 PM today, Thursday.

In his budget speech, the Finance Minister said that this is the first budget presented by the new BNP-led government, which was formed through a free and fair election on February 12, 2026. While presenting the budget proposal in the grand parliament, the Finance Minister expressed his commitment to restoring the macroeconomy, stability, and market discipline from the ruins of the past decade and a half of fascist rule.

He said alongside tackling the challenges of the ongoing war situation in the Middle East and global economic polarization, the core objective of this budget is to ensure an inclusive, accountable, and sustainable 'democratization of the economy' for all citizens, in line with the election manifesto and the commitments of the July National Charter. To manage global and domestic risks, 10 key priorities have been set, with announcements made to bring the country's inflation down to 7.5 percent and elevate economic growth to 6.5 percent in the upcoming fiscal year.

At the same time, by capitalizing on the demographic and democratic dividend, the Finance Minister highlighted a specific roadmap in this budget to transform Bangladesh into a 1 trillion-dollar economy by 2034.

In the proposed budget, 10 major priority sectors have been identified for the overall development of the country. These include establishing a discrimination-free and inclusive economy with balanced partnership across all regions and classes, ensuring realistic education and universal healthcare to transform youth into skilled human resources, and creating a life-cycle-based universal social safety net to build a welfare state.

Additionally, special emphasis has been placed on an investment and production-oriented economy to generate balanced employment and ensure food security, reducing bureaucratic complexities to foster a simple and cost-effective business environment (deregulation), and protecting the stability of the financial sector by restoring transparency to the banking and capital markets.

At the same time, the government has prioritized uninterrupted and eco-friendly energy security to maintain productivity, transforming Bangladesh into a top ICT exporting nation, sustainable environment and water resource management through river dredging and afforestation, and building a merit-based, accountable, and efficient administrative system.

Details to follow...