Interim Government Hands Over Budget Revision Responsibility to Next Elected Government

Staff Reporter | PNN

The initial plan was to finalize revisions to the national budget for FY 2025–26 next month. However, the interim government decided to leave the responsibility for budget revision to the next elected government. This ensures that the incoming government can prioritize its political commitments when revising the budget after elections in February.

The decision was made during a meeting chaired by financial adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, which involved the government’s financial, currency, and exchange rate coordination council, along with the budget monitoring and asset committee. The meeting also discussed preliminary estimates of expenditure for FY 2026–27, totaling around 8.5 lakh crore BDT. The new budget will be finalized by the incoming government.

While the budget revision has not been finalized, the council has updated projections for inflation and GDP growth. The inflation target for the current fiscal year was increased from 6.5% to 7%, while GDP growth projection was revised from 5.5% to 5%, citing insufficient investment. For FY 2026–27, the government has set inflation and GDP growth projections at 6% each. Current inflation, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, is over 8%.

Typically, the coordination council meets in December to review revenue collection, ADP implementation, exports, remittances, foreign currency reserves, imports, investment, and other economic indicators. Budget drafting and revisions usually begin in December and are finalized in January, but this year, the process has been deferred to the next elected government due to elections.