In order to counteract the impact of Covid-19 in the country and economy, the proposed budget for fiscal year 2020-21 focuses on a more welfare oriented approach.
As a result, more money could be seen being spent for the comparatively poorer people whose life has been the most affected during this coronavirus pandemic.
To begin, the Tk 5.68 trillion budget proposed for 2020-21 fiscal year targets an ambitious 8.2 percent GDP growth. That is quite ambitious during these times to say the least.
The budget outlay has increased by around 7.9 percent, from the outgoing fiscal year. According to a report published in this daily, the Finance Division has estimated an overall possible revenue collection target of Taka 3.78 trillion for the coming fiscal.
The proposed budget is a time-oriented and
adaptive one that is primed to counteract the
effects of the ongoing world pandemic
Of the amount, Tk 150 billion is expected to be drawn from the taxable sectors and Tk 330 billion from the non-taxable sectors beyond the National Board of Revenue (NBR) target. Also, the government is eying for an estimated Tk 40.13 billion as foreign grant to help out in these trying times.
Despite such a hefty budget proposal there seems to be fund cuts amongst some key areas. For instance, the budget for mega projects under Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges and Ministry of Railways has been lowered. Also, the allocation for the disaster management and relief has been cut despite Bangladesh being badly affected by climate change and natural disasters.
This seems to prove the prediction of various global financial monitors to be true, as they projected the deadly virus to pull down the growth in South Asia and the Pacific regions. And taking funds away from the mega projects would slow down the growth of the country.
This is not a conventional budget to say the least that has been seen to be allocated in the previous fiscal years. None the less, it is an effective budget that means to help the country’s economy during this crisis. The three-phase strategy of ‘short, medium and long’ term stimulus package plans proposed by the Faineance Minister to counteract the affect of pandemic is a testament to this notion.
This is the second budget proposal of the Finance Minister since he took office in the beginning of 2019. Above all, this shows that the proposed budget is a time-oriented and adaptive one that is primed to counteract the effects of the ongoing world pandemic.