The council of advisers today approved the national budget for the fiscal year 2025-2026
Rights activists warn that this rollback threatens to reverse progress and stall efforts toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
If you're planning to import cheap lipstick into Bangladesh anytime soon, think again. The country's interim government, in its latest budget, has quietly declared war on undervalued imports with a series of oddly specific tweaks to customs rules. Among the victims: chocolate bars, lipsticks, eye shadow, and -- wait for it -- inflatable toys.
The liquidity crisis in the sector worsened significantly in 2024, with only 57 percent of insurance claims being settled,
The budget for FY26 has drawn strong criticism from business leaders who say it lacks a clear roadmap for improving the investment climate, bolstering industrial competitiveness, and implementing overdue reforms in the banking sector.
Around a dozen banks are currently struggling to repay depositors, eroding public trust
The positive objectives laid out in the proposed national budget for fiscal 2025–26 are not backed by measures, said the Centre for Policy Dialogue.
Here’s to hoping that the interim government initiates targeted and critical reforms in FY2026 to improve budget implementation
The interim government expects the country’s gross foreign exchange reserves to rise to $34.4 billion by the end of the fiscal year (FY) 2025–26, buoyed by strong remittance inflows, export performance, and budgetary support from development partners.
Prof Yunus will visit Tokyo from May 28-31. The two countries will also sign at least seven memoranda of understanding.
The budget for fiscal 2025-26 is likely to be smaller than the current year’s outlay, but subsidy spending is expected to remain almost unchanged at Tk 1,15,741 crore.
In a move to develop an effective public transport system in the country’s major cities, the interim government may reduce customs duties on the import of public buses.
From horse-drawn carriages to helicopters, weddings in Bangladesh have taken flight -- literally. What was once a luxury reserved for the ultra-rich has become an aspirational trend among the middle class in recent years.
After five years, the income tax rate for the highest bracket is likely to revert to 30 percent in the upcoming fiscal year as part of the government’s efforts to address growing inequality — an issue that is among the country’s major economic concerns.
The interim government is likely to introduce a transparent system for social safety net schemes in the upcoming budget, increasing the number of beneficiaries by around 10 lakh while slashing one-third of the existing programmes.
The government plans to raise the food subsidy allocation by 31 percent to Tk 9,500 crore in the upcoming fiscal year, aiming to ensure access to affordable food for poor and low-income households.
The interim government plans to reduce the national budget deficit to 3.6 percent of gross domestic product in the upcoming fiscal year -- the lowest in 14 years -- as it seeks to rebuild fiscal credibility, limit borrowing, and ease pressure from rising debt servicing costs.
For the first time, the planning ministry has used a digital budget planning system to categorise spending based on economic codes
