Bangladesh's interim government approves maiden budget of $65B amid economic pressure

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Bangladesh's transitional government led by economist Muhammad Yunus approved its first national budget of 7.9 trillion taka ($64.96 billion) on Monday for the 2025-26 fiscal year amid a downward trend in foreign investment and high inflation, local media reported.

The budget was approved by the interim advisory council to become effective on July 1 in the form of a presidential ordinance.

Salehuddin Ahmed, the finance adviser of the interim government, presented the proposed budget in a pre-recorded speech broadcast by local media.

The interim government was formed last August after a student-led July uprising ousted the government of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last July. Hasina fled to India in early August.

Calling the 2025-26 fiscal year's budget “timely and realistic,” the finance adviser told the media that it "is implementable."

The budget is slightly small compared to the previous year's budget of 7.97 trillion taka ($68 billion).

Bangladesh has seen a net foreign-aid inflow of over $1.6 billion in the first 10 months of this fiscal year from July 2024 -- a 52.45% low compared to the last corresponding period, according to the Finance Ministry.

The inflation in the last few months stuck close to 10%, a burden to the low-income groups.

The transitional government said it inherited a fragile economy from the ousted Sheikh Hasina-led government. The central bank governor Ahsan H. Mansur accused the Hasina regime of laundering some $20 billion in the last 15 years.

To reduce the financial pressure on the low-income group, the budget, however, includes the expansion of the social safety net program, focusing on creating new jobs, and reducing inflation, as well as facilitating trade and commerce.