Kazi Zahidul Hasan :
Finance Minister AMA Muhith will present the next fiscal’s budget in the parliament on June 2 with a pledge to boost growth, tame inflation and a higher allocation for mega development projects.
This will be the country’s 45th budget and Muhith is going to be placing his eighth budget in a row.
The 2016-17 FY budget will be the ruling Awami League’s 17th budget. Sources said, the Finance Minister will place another big budget when the implementation capacity of the government agencies remains questionable at all quarters.
Budget implementation in the July-February period of the current fiscal was the lowest during the last seven years of the present government.
The size of the next budget would be Tk 3,40,006 crore, envisaging a total revenue earning target of Tk 2,42,752 crore. Some Tk 1,10,264 crore would be earmarked for development spending, officials associated with to budget preparation told The New Nation on Monday.
“The size of the next fiscal’s budget would be 29 per cent higher than the actual budget of the current fiscal (Tk 2,95,100 crore) and it would set aside a higher allocation for education, health, energy and infrastructure development,” a senior Finance Ministry official told The New Nation on Monday, requesting not to be named.
He added separate budgetary allocation would be there for timely implementation of mega development projects.
“Out of the total budgetary outlay (Tk 3,40,006 crore), around 85 per cent would be financed from the NBR’s revenue sources and rest 15 per cent from high-cost internal borrowing, he said.
The budget deficit is calculated at 5 per cent of the GDP.
“A big portion of the deficit will be met through internal borrowing. Of which, around Tk 43,774 crore would be borrowed from banking channels,” said the Finance Ministry official.
Regarding development expenditure (Tk1,10,264 crore), he said, about 65 per cent of the outlay would be financed from local resources and rest 15 per cent from foreign loans and grants.
In the actual budget of the current fiscal, Tk 97,000 crore has been earmarked for development expenditure.
The official further said that the Ministry of Finance is working hard to finalize the fiscal and macro framework of next budget. It is also reviewing the recommendations of the stakeholders to incorporate the figures in the budget.
The GDP growth target for the next fiscal is estimated at 7.2 per cent as compared to the current fiscal’s projected GDP growth of 7 per cent. The next budget is also aiming to bring inflation below 6 per cent. When asked, the Finance Ministry official said that despite its record size, it is unlikely to spring any major surprises.
“The next budget will be prepared in light with the Seventh Five year plan which aimed at achieving a higher GDP growth,” Dr Shamsul Alam, Senior Secretary of Planning Commission told The New Nation yesterday.
He said, “Definitely the size of the next budget will be bigger than that of the current one because of growing economy and population and highlight the ambition of the ruling Awami League government”.
“The next budget would set aside a bigger allocation for education, health, energy and communication sectors,” he added.
When asked, the Senior Secretary said human-resource development will get priority in the budget. It would also put emphasis on macro-economic stability through continued creation of investment opportunities, expanding and upgrading physical infrastructure, improving quality of social services, and strengthening institutional and regulatory environments.
The budget would provide necessary funds for executing mega development projects in time. Besides, Tk 3000-3500 crore matching fund would be created to implement projects under Public Private Partnership (PPP).
Sources said, Muhith is likely to go into retirement after the passage of the next budget.
The elderly cabinet minister of the ruling AL government earlier hinted at his retirement mentioning age.
“It has become very necessary to retire. I feel very lucky that I am involved in service for the country, even at the age of 83,” Muhith came up with the statement while speaking at a function in the capital recently.
