Next budget to be around Tk 2.5 trillion: Muhith

Finance Minister AMA Muhith today said the size of the national budget for the upcoming fiscal year may be around Tk 2.5 trillion.

Pre-budget discussion for the 2014-15 fiscal will start soon, the minister said while talking to reporters after inaugurating the 28-megawatt Shajahanullah Power Plant at Kumargaon on Sylhet-Sunamganj highway in Sylhet, reports our district correspondent.

The budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year was Tk 2.2 trillion, of which revenue target was set at Tk 1.6 trillion with budget deficit being Tk 55 bn, which was 4.6 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

After inaugurating the power plant, Muhith informed the journalists that the generation from the plant would be supplied to the Rural Electrification Board (REB) from today.

Terming the present government constitutional and lawful, the minister said it will remain in power for five years.

He blamed BNP for the US and European Union's stance against the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) facilities for Bangladesh.

The present government is successful in increasing power generation to meet its ever-increasing demand, the minister insisted, adding that the total generation of electricity is currently around 10,000 MW.