The Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA) on Monday placed a Tk13,96,00,000 crore alternative budget for the next fiscal year.
The alternative budget is 2.47 times more than the size of the current fiscal year budget.
The proposed budget could be implemented without any foreign support and bank loans, BEA President Prof Abul Barakat said at a virtual press conference.
Barakat, referring to some studies, said nearly 36 million people had lost their jobs in the first 66 days of the countrywide lockdown.
Barakat read out the budget proposal, “Free of Catastrophe of Covid-19 and Building Bangladesh with the Spirit of the Liberation War”.
The BEA, the apex body of the country’s economists, proposed a revenue earnings target at Tk12,61,600 crore and deficit at Tk1,35,000 crore. The deficit will be financed from the bonds market, savings certificates and public private partnership (PPP).
Barakat said there was no need of foreign borrowing to finance the budget.
The BEA said 21 new sources had been identified in its proposed budget. From such sources, the government could collect Tk 2,67,340 crore from 18 sectors, it added.
“Our revenue policy should be designed for the welfare of people. It must be based on our constitution,” he said, adding that the policy should be designed in such a way that it could help reduce poverty and decrease dependence on foreign aid.
"We have to stop all the ways for people to earn tainted black money,” Abul Barakat added.
He said ways of eliminating income inequality and wealth inequality should be specified in the upcoming budget for the 2020-21 financial year.
Since the fiscal year 2015-16, the BEA has been proposing alternative budgets.
36m people lost jobs in 66 days of coronavirus shutdown
At the press conference, the BEA President revealed that nearly 36 million people had lost their jobs in the first 66 days of the corona emergency.
He also said 59.5 million people had moved into different class structures during this period. Of them 25.5 million people had fallen into extreme poverty.
However, the condition of the very rich (1.7 crore people) remained unchanged, the BEA chief said.
Around 61 million people were currently employed in the country's job market, said the BEA president.
The highest job losses were found in the services, agriculture and industry sectors, he stated.
Abul Barakat urged the government to allocate cash handouts to and ensure treatment of all marginalized people.
"There is no alternative to an expansionary budget to combat Covid-19", he said.
The economist also suggested printing a limited amount of money if needed to fight the coronavirus.
The association of the country’s economists recommended increasing allocations on health, agriculture and education sectors in the budget.
The Secretary General of the BEA, Jamaluddin Ahmed, also spoke at the press conference.
