Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali presented the national budget of Tk 7970 billion for the fiscal year 2024-25 in the parliament on Thursday. This is the 54th national budget for Bangladesh.

The proposed FY 2024-25 budget is 4.6 percent larger than the current fiscal year’s budget, a notably modest increase compared to the year-on-year average growth of 11 percent witnessed over the past five years. In comparison, the current fiscal year’s budget saw a 12.35 percent increase from the preceding year.

The government has set a gross domestic product (GDP) growth target of 6.75 percent for FY 2024-25, slightly below the more than 7 percent growth target set for the current fiscal year.

An ambitious inflation target of 6.5 percent has been set, despite the average inflation rate exceeding 9 percent over the past two years. The high inflation rates in previous years were attributed to various factors, including ineffective measures by the central bank and government interventions.

The government intends to contain the budget deficit to 4.6 percent of GDP, a level not seen in the past decade. The anticipated deficit for FY 2024-25 is projected to be Tk 2,56,000 crore.

The budget sets an ambitious revenue collection goal of Tk 5,41,000 crore for FY 2024-25, marking an 8.2 percent increase from the previous year’s target. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is expected to raise Tk 4,80,000 crore, reflecting the government’s reliance on enhanced revenue mobilization to fund its expansive budget.