The new national budget to be proposed tomorrow (Thursday) sets an economic growth -- gross domestic product (GDP) -- target of 7.0 per cent for fiscal 2007-08 on better outlook of farm outputs and external sector performance, reports UNB.
It has also revised down the GDP for the current fiscal to 6.5 per cent from budgetary estimate of 7.0 per cent for output losses in agriculture and manufacturing sectors due to adverse situation both at home and abroad, highly placed sources said.
The budget will be broadcast through radio and television at 3:00 pm Thursday.
Bangladesh Bank (BB) and other multilateral development partners, including Asian Development Bank (ADB), have projections that the country would achieve a 6.5 per cent GDP growth this fiscal year and it would go up to 7.0 per cent in the next fiscal year.
Officials said the budget would project that the better performance by external sector during the current fiscal year would continue in the next fiscal year while there are hardly any indication of doing bad.
The exports marked a rise by 21 per cent during July-April period of the current fiscal year while remittance grew by 25 per cent to accumulate a healthy reserve position.
They said a credit growth of 17 per cent in the private sector during July-March period of the current fiscal year was also satisfactory and industrial production was good.