The government gave special attention to the disable people in national budget 2014-15 and allocate Tk20 crore to the trust established for the physically challenged persons.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith placed annual budget proposal around Tk250,506 crore for 2014-15 fiscal year on Thursday afternoon.
The finance minister started reading out the proposal of the country’s 43rd budget at 3:36pm through a PowerPoint presentation in the House.
The national budget for fiscal 2014-15 is being placed in parliament with an ambitious economic growth target of 7.3% through a substantial rise in government spending.
Muhith said: “We will institutionalize the facilities for disabled people. To this end, the National Foundation for the Disabled will be converted into a Directorate immediately. The rate and coverage of stipends for insolvent disabled and disabled students will be enhanced. A decision has been taken to increase the number of disabled beneficiaries to Tk400,000 and that of disabled students to 50,000 in FY 2014-15.”
He added: “Besides, I propose to allocate Tk20 crore to the trust established for the disabled with neuro-developmental disorder and Tk5 crore to the trust for the welfare of the physically challenged.”
Muhith also said: “Over the last five years, we implemented a number of safety net programmes, namely, stipend program, special stipend programme for physically challenged students, allowances for insolvent disabled persons, old age allowances, allowances for expecting and lactating mothers, allowances for widows and divorced women, one house one farm project, Ashrayan project, food for works program, test relief, gratuitous relief, food assistance for destitute mothers, char livelihood project etc.”
“In view of the responsibility of both the society and the state for physically challenged people, I propose to increase tax exempted income threshold for them from Tk3 lakh to Tk3.5 lakh,” the minister said.
The budget for the FY15 will be passed on June 29.
