The council of advisers today approved the national budget for the fiscal year 2025-2026
Rights activists warn that this rollback threatens to reverse progress and stall efforts toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
If you're planning to import cheap lipstick into Bangladesh anytime soon, think again. The country's interim government, in its latest budget, has quietly declared war on undervalued imports with a series of oddly specific tweaks to customs rules. Among the victims: chocolate bars, lipsticks, eye shadow, and -- wait for it -- inflatable toys.
The liquidity crisis in the sector worsened significantly in 2024, with only 57 percent of insurance claims being settled,
The budget for FY26 has drawn strong criticism from business leaders who say it lacks a clear roadmap for improving the investment climate, bolstering industrial competitiveness, and implementing overdue reforms in the banking sector.
Around a dozen banks are currently struggling to repay depositors, eroding public trust
The positive objectives laid out in the proposed national budget for fiscal 2025–26 are not backed by measures, said the Centre for Policy Dialogue.
Here’s to hoping that the interim government initiates targeted and critical reforms in FY2026 to improve budget implementation
The budget for FY26 has drawn strong criticism from business leaders who say it lacks a clear roadmap for improving the investment climate, bolstering industrial competitiveness, and implementing overdue reforms in the banking sector.
High inflation has become the bane of low-income people’s existence for the better part of the past two years as spiralling prices have dramatically eaten away at their purchasing power.
A glimpse of the actual expenditure:
Home and commercial space buyers are expected to face higher costs as the government seeks to hike value-added tax on the services provided by construction firms. The VAT rate will be 10 percent in FY26, up from 7.5 percent during this outgoing fiscal year. Besides, an increase in specific VAT on rods is expected to fuel construction costs.
One of the main targets of this government is the recovery of stolen assets, or assets that have been pilfered abroad through capital flight.
Criticising this move by the interim government, the corruption watchdog said that it reflects a stance completely contrary to the objectives of state reform, particularly the core purpose of the Anti-Corruption Commission reforms
The proposed budget lacks structural changes while a few positive steps have been taken in isolation, said the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) in its immediate reaction on the proposed budget.
