Budget: Defence Sector Allocation To Rise

In the proposed budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year, an allocation of Tk 42,291 crore has been made for the defence sector. The amount is Tk 1,593 crore more than the outgoing fiscal year.

For the 2025-26 fiscal year, an allocation of Tk 40,698 crore was proposed for the defence sector, which stood at Tk 40,502 crore in the revised budget.

The budget of Tk 9.38 lakh crore was presented in the National Parliament this afternoon (Thursday). In this defence budget, a proposal has been made to allocate Tk 38,721 crore for the operational expenditure of defence services and Tk 1,611 crore for development expenditure. For other services under the Ministry of Defence, the operational expenditure has been set at Tk 1,959 crore.

Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury has been announing the budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year in the National Parliament. This is the first budget of the BNP government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. This will be the largest budget in the country's history.

The size of this year's proposed budget is Tk 9.38 lakh crore. In contrast, the revenue collection target has been set at Tk 6.95 lakh crore. As a result, the gap between income and expenditure stands at Tk 2.43 lakh crore. To meet this huge budget deficit, the government has planned to raise funds from both domestic and foreign sources.

According to the proposed budget, Tk 1.16 lakh crore will be raised from foreign loans and grants, and Tk 1.27 lakh crore from domestic sources. Of this, Tk 1.12 lakh crore will be taken from the banking system, and Tk 15,000 crore will be raised from savings certificates and other sources.

According to rules, the budget will be approved by the cabinet before being presented in parliament, and subsequently, President Mohammed Shahabuddin will give his consent by signing it. The new fiscal year will formally come into effect from July 1st.