New budget to take Bangladesh one step forward: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said the proposed national budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year was not "ambitious", vowing to take Bangladesh forward.

"I don't consider the budget as an ambitious one... We will take Bangladesh one step further through the implementation of the budget," she said while taking part in a discussion on the proposed budget in the parliament.

This is the largest ever budget in size with Tk 7.97 lakh crore in the history of Bangladesh, with Tk 2.65 lakh crore annual development programme (ADP) and 6.75 percent growth rate, she said.

Some people have termed the budget as "an ambitious one" while some others called it a deficit, claiming that it was not possible to implement the budget and the need to reduce the growth target and ADP, she said.

The prime minister said they have the capability to take the challenge of implementing the budget.

"Taking challenges is our job. We want to move on by taking challenges and we have been marching ahead by accepting the challenge," she added.

Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury presided over the sitting of the third session of the 12th parliament.

On June 6, Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali placed Tk 7.97 lakh crore national budget for the 2024-25 fiscal in parliament, which is 4.6 percent bigger than the current fiscal year.