DHAKA, June 11, 2020 (BSS) – Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has started rolling out the national budget for 2020-21 fiscal (FY21) at Jatiya Sangsad, a day after it was called to session with limited lawmakers in an extraordinary situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leader of the House and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina along with selected number of lawmakers invited by concerned parliamentary whips joined the sitting as Kamal started his presentation at 03.03 pm being asked by Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury.
The Finance Division dubbed the proposed budged as “Economic Transition and the Future Pathway” while in a statement it said the fiscal document intended to synchronize the current reality with the government’s past achievements.
“This budget is not a fiscal document of traditional nature . . . for logical reasons it prioritized the health sector,” read the statement issued on the eve of the presentation of the budget.
It added that simultaneously the agriculture, food production and management, employment, social safety net and issues of economic and business recovery drew extra emphasis in the budget.
This is the country’s 49th budget and the 21st of the Awami League (AL) government in five terms while Tajuddin Ahmed presented the first budget as the finance minister of the post-independence Bangabandhu Government in 1972.
Kamal is announcing his second budget as the country’s 12th finance minister after he was entrusted with the portfolio in the third consecutive term of AL government.
AMA Muhith and Saifur Rahman presented the highest 12 budgets each at different terms of their respective governments.
Muhith, however, is lone finance minister to place budgets for 10 consecutive fiscals since 2009 until he went on retirement after the end of last parliament.
Earlier on the day, the cabinet in a special meeting, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair in the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban cabinet room, approved the proposed budget for the coming financial year.
The finance minister, other cabinet ministers and state ministers concerned attended the meeting.
The finance division made available tThe budget documents on its own website and several other sites like www.mof.gov.bd, www.bangladesh.gov.bd, www.nbr-bd.org, www.plancomm.gov.bd, www.imed.gov.bd, www.bdpressinform.portal.gov.bd and www.pmo.gov.bd.
Anyone could read and download the budget documents, and also can give suggestions after filling up the feedback form, a finance ministry press release said.
“Their suggestions and recommendations will be considered,” the press release said.
The finance minister will hold a post-budget press conference at 3pm through video conferencing on June 12.