Govt to frame 'pragmatic' budget for next fiscal

FHM Humayan Kabir | Published: February 25, 2009 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

The government will frame a "pragmatic" development budget for fiscal 2009-10 (July-June) keeping in mind the impact of global recession on the local economy, officials said Tuesday.

"We've asked the ministries and agencies last week not to take ambitious schemes in the forthcoming development budget as global economic meltdown has started hurting the local economy," a senior planning commission (PC) official told the FE.

The commission has also directed the agencies to ensure reflection of the election manifesto of the ruling party in the annual development programme (ADP) to make Bangladesh digital by 2021.

A set of guidelines has already been sent to the government agencies asking their project proposals by March 5.

The PC will scrutiny those projects in order to include only the pragmatic ones in the next ADP, the PC official said.

"Some new types of schemes can be incorporated in the forthcoming ADP as the ruling party wants to make Bangladesh a digital state by 2021," he said.

The government's highest economic policy making body --national economic council (NEC) -- at its meeting on June 7 last year finalised Tk 256 billion ADP for the current fiscal 2008-09 providing highest allocation to the agriculture, water resources and rural development sectors.

The size of the ADP is higher by Tk 31 billion than that of revised Tk 225 billion ADP of fiscal 2007-08.

The new guideline says the less-important projects will have to be kept out to make room for those projects targeted for poverty reduction and rehabilitation works in the flood and cyclone affected areas.

Projects related to oil, gas, coal, hydro-power, biogas and organic energy, wind and solar power will get preference in the new development budget, the planning commission official said.

Programmes that will facilitate creation of rural employment in the agriculture and non-agriculture sectors, boosting small and medium enterprises, and developing ICT sector will be given highest priority.