With an around 16 per cent lower allocation for the health sector, the next fiscal year's annual development programme (ADP) with a Tk 274,674 crore outlay is going to be presented at a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) today.

The NEC is likely to approve the outlay at the meeting with its chairperson, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in the chair.

The government is set to allocate a Tk 16,204 crore development budget for the health sector, which will be around 16 per cent lower than that of the ongoing fiscal year, thanks to the receding of the pandemic.

In the ongoing fiscal year, the government allocated Tk 19,277 crore keeping in mind the need for spending public funds to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Meanwhile the Planning Commission has finalised the draft ADP outlay for the new fiscal year amid cost savings in the economy and prioritising project implementation, for which the transport and communication sector received the highest allocation.

The planning commission proposed to allocate Tk 75,944 crore for the sector, which is around 29 per cent of the total allocation.

According to data of ADP the transport and communication sector has been receiving the highest allocation in ADP for the past few years in terms of allocation to single sectors.

In the current fiscal year 2022-23, the allocation was about Tk 71,000 crore.