Tk 678,064cr national budget for FY 2022-23 passed in parliament

Parliament today (June 30, 2022) passed the Tk 678,064 crore national budget for the fiscal year 2022-23, with the theme "Return to the Path of Development Leaving the Covid-19 Behind" to overcome the impact of coronavirus pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war on the economy.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal placed the Appropriations Bill, 2022 seeking a budgetary allocation of Tk 8,83,751 crore which was passed by voice vote.

Earlier on Wednesday, parliament passed the Finance Bill 2022 with some changes.

Following the proposal mooted in the House by the Finance Ministry for the parliamentary approval of appropriation of fund for meeting necessary development and non-development expenditures of the government, the ministers concerned placed justifications for the expenditures by their respective ministries through 59 demands for grant.

Earlier, parliament rejected by voice vote a total of only 664 cut-motions that stood in the name of opposition members on 59 demands for grants for different ministries.

A total of 12 MPs from Jatiya Party, BNP, Gono Forum, and independent lawmakers submitted their cut-motions on the budget.

They are JP's Kazi Firoze Rashid, Rustam Ali Farazi, Mujibul Huq, Fakhrul Imam, Shameem Haider Patwari, Rawshan Ara Mannan, Ponir Uddin Ahmed, BNP's Harunur Rashid, Mosharrof Hossain and Rumeen Farhana, Gono Forum's Mokabbir Khan, and independent MP Rezaul Karim Bablu.

They were, however, allowed to participate in the discussion on Election Commission Secretariat, Public Security Division, Health Services Division and Secondary and Higher Education Division.

Later, Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury applied guillotine to quicken the process of passing the demands for grants for different ministries without giving the lunch break.

Opposition and independent MPs were present at the House when the Appropriation Bill was passed in parliament and they did not raise any voice against passing of the bill.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on June 9 placed a Tk 678,064 crore-national budget for 2022-23 fiscal year.

The budget kept the GDP growth target of 7.5 percent and the GDP size estimated at Tk44.50 lakh crore.

The revenue target is set at Tk4.33 lakh crore, while the budget deficit is Tk2.42 lakh crore or 5.4 percent of GDP. The average inflation in the budget was kept at 5.6 percent.