Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed said that this year’s budget has prioritized increasing both the number of beneficiaries and per capita allocations to reduce poverty, address social inequality, and improve living standards for the poor, marginalized, and vulnerable groups.
He made the statement during his speech while presenting the proposed budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, amounting to Tk7,89,999 crore, in a televised speech on Monday.
The finance adviser announced proposals to increase several social safety net allowances from the next fiscal year.
Key proposed increases include: the monthly old-age allowance from Tk600 to Tk650, the monthly allowance for widows and women abused by their husbands from Tk550 to Tk650, the monthly allowance for persons with disabilities from Tk850 to Tk900, and the mother and child support program allowance from Tk800 to Tk850.
Additionally, he proposed setting the monthly allowance for disadvantaged communities at Tk650.
It is worth noting that the size of the national budget for the 2025–26 fiscal year is Tk7,000 crore less than the original budget for the ongoing fiscal year.
The proposed budget projects a GDP growth rate of 5.6%, a deficit of Tk2,66,000 crore (3.6% of the total budget), inflation at 6.5%, and an Annual Development Program (ADP) of Tk2,30,000 crore. The government considers this to be a contractionary budget.
Earlier on Monday morning, a special meeting of the Advisory Council was held at the Chief Adviser’s Office in Tejgaon, Dhaka.
The meeting, chaired by Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus, approved the proposed national budget for 2025–26. President Mohammed Shahabuddin signed the budget following its approval at the special council meeting.
