Parliament on Tuesday passed a Tk9,38,000 crore national budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year, setting targets of 6.5% economic growth and 7.5% inflation as the government seeks to stabilise the economy and revive growth after prolonged price pressures.
The budget, the first presented by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, is 19% larger than the Tk7,90,000 crore budget for the current fiscal year.
The fiscal deficit has been projected at Tk2,43,000 crore, equivalent to 3.6% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), while the overall budget size represents 13.7% of the projected GDP for FY2026-27.
As part of the government's economic roadmap, the finance minister unveiled a "3R Strategy" to revive the economy and support Bangladesh's ambition of becoming a $1 trillion economy.
The strategy comprises three phases—Recovery and Stabilization, Restoration, and Reconstruction for Acceleration—and will be implemented over one to five years.
The budget sets a revenue collection target of Tk6,95,000 crore, including Tk6,04,000 crore to be collected by the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
To facilitate implementation of the budget, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury moved the Appropriation Bill, 2026, seeking authorization for government expenditure amounting to Tk15,15,439 crore. The bill was passed by voice vote.
On Monday, Parliament passed the Finance Bill, 2026 with several amendments, including raising the tax-free income threshold and abolishing the requirement to disclose investments.
Before the Appropriation Bill was passed, ministers presented justifications for expenditure under their respective ministries through 59 demands for grants covering both development and non-development spending.
The House rejected, by voice vote, 1,343 cut motions submitted by opposition lawmakers against the 59 demands for grants.
A total of 43 MPs from Jamaat, the National Citizen Party (NCP) and independent members moved the cut motions and took part in discussions on 36 ministries, divisions and offices, including the Prime Minister's Office, Finance Division, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Railways, Road Transport and Highways Division, and the Anti-Corruption Commission.
At the request of Opposition Leader Dr Shafiqur Rahman, the speaker applied the guillotine to expedite the passage of the remaining demands for grants.
Opposition and independent MPs were present in the House when the Appropriation Bill was passed and did not object to its adoption.
