Next budget likely on June 11

The government is scheduled to announce the new fiscal budget in parliament on June 11, although the process of its preparation has been badly affected due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The finance division officials said that the government was yet to decide whether a full-fledged or an interim budget for a period of three-months should be announced for 2020-2021 fiscal.

They, however, said priorities would be given to the social safety net programme and health sector. 

Additional secretary Habibur Rahman of the finance division told New Age on Tuesday that they must announce the budget by the second week of June to meet the constitutional obligation.

He said they had already conveyed the decision to the parliament secretariat.

Planning minister MA Mannan told New Age on Thursday that a teleconference between the finance minister and other selected ministers including him would be held soon to identify the priorities as the months-long discussion with stakeholders on budget was remained suspended due to the virus outbreak. 

He said his ministry was ready to provide inputs into the important document.    

Former caretaker government adviser Mirza Azizul Islam said the government should place as full-fledge budget to give wider signals about its plans amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

An interim budget may not fulfill the expectation of the people and create uncertainty among them, he noted.           

Azizul Islam who placed two national budgets in 2007-08 and 2008-09 said even the full-fledge budget could be revised in the third quarter of the new fiscal.

According to the finance division officials, only once in the country’s history an interim budget was placed.

In 1996, professor Wahiduddin Mahmud, then finance adviser to the then caretaker government, placed the interim budget.

Later, it was endorsed by the elected government.

On April 17, Debapriya Bhattacharya, convener of the Citizen’s Platform for SDGs and distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said the government should defer the announcement of the new budget by two to three weeks.

To him, there is no stable and favourable situation in the country right now because of the coronavirus pandemic to think about the national budget.

Meanwhile, as of Friday, Bangladesh’s death toll rose to 131 from the viral disease and the number of infections rose to 4,689 since the first case was detected in the country on March 8 and the first death on March 18.

The holiday enforced by the government since March 26 to ensure social distancing and preventing the spread of the deadly virus has led to the suspension of  the traditional pre-budget discussions between the finance ministry and the stakeholders, including parliament members, economists, think-tanks and chamber bodies.

A series of discussions was scheduled to begin from March 30.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net