2020-21 budget passed in Jatiya Sangsad

The Jatiya Sangsad (JS) has passed the Taka 5,68,000 crore national budget for the next fiscal year (2020-21) with a target of attaining 8.2 percent GDP growth.

It was passed at the session held with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair on Tuesday.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal moved the Appropriations Bill, 2020, seeking a budgetary allocation of Tk 7,59,642.44  crore which was passed by voice vote.

Following the proposal mooted in the House by the Finance Ministry for the parliamentary approval of appropriation of fund for meeting necessary development and non-development expenditures of the government, the ministers concerned placed justifications for the expenditures by their respective ministries through 59 demands for grant.

A total of nine MPs from Jatiya Party and BNP submitted their cut-motions on the budget. They are Kazi Firoze Rashid, Mujibul Huq, Fakhrul Imam, Pir Fazlur Rahman, Shamim Haider Patwari, Liaquat Hossain Khoka, Begum Rawshan Ara Mannan, Harun Ur Rashid and Rumeen Farhana.

The finance minister earlier dubbed the proposed budget as “Economic Transition and Pathway to Progress”.

Opposition and independent MPs were present at the House when the Appropriations Bill was passed in parliament and they did not raise any voice against passing of the bill.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on June 11 placed a Taka 568,000 crore budget which also aims to contain inflation within 5.4 percent for the next fiscal overcoming all challenges and impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The total allocation for operating and other expenditures is estimated at Taka 3,62,855 crore, while the allocation for the annual development program (ADP) is Taka 2,05,145 crore.

The total budget size in the current fiscal year was earlier estimated at Taka 5,23,190 crore. In the revised budget, the expenditure was reduced by Taka 21,613 crore, and thus revised at Taka 5,01,577 crore.

Dhaka/Asad/Mukul