Dhaka: The proposed budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 has projected a deficit of Taka 2,26,000 crore, down from Taka 2,56,000 crore in the current fiscal year, representing 3.6% of the GDP. Finance Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed said this while presenting the proposed national budget for FY26 through a pre-recorded speech aired through Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar today.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Dr. Ahmed emphasized that despite the increase in expenditure on principal and interest payment of foreign loans due to the depreciation of the Taka against the US dollar during the previous government, the overall budget deficit will remain at a tolerable level. Of the total deficit in the proposed budget, Taka 1,25,000 crore is planned to be sourced from domestic avenues, while Taka 1,01,000 crore will be sourced from foreign avenues.
The Finance Adviser also highlighted that in the next financial year, the total expenditure on interest payment is estimated at Taka 1,22,000 crore. This includes Taka 1 lakh crore for domestic interest payments and Taka 22,000 crore for foreign interest payments.
The budget deficit for the current fiscal year was initially estimated to be Taka 2,56,000 crore. However, in the revised budget, the deficit is proposed to be reduced to Taka 2,26,000 crore, which equates to 4.1 percent of the GDP. Of the total deficit in the revised budget, Taka 1,17,000 crore is expected to be collected from domestic sources, and Taka 1,09,000 crore from foreign sources.