\\\'New budget to further reduce poverty by cutting disparity\\\'

Extending their appreciation to Finance Minister AMA Muhith for placing a pro-poor, business friendly and time-befitting budget in the Jatiya Sangsad (JS), treasury bench members have said the budget for fiscal year 2014-2015 would take Bangladesh a step ahead for building a poverty, exploitation and militancy free country. Taking part in the general discussion on the proposed budget, the ruling party MPs said the finance minister has demonstrated awesome courage in formulating such a fiscal document that would help reduce disparities, ensure balance in distribution of wealth, further cut poverty and boost economic growth. The ruling party MPs said the new fiscal plan with a far reaching vision would greatly help Bangladesh achieve its target of becoming a middle-income country by 2021 through accelerating economic growth and cutting poverty rate to a large extent. One of the major objectives of the budget is to achieve higher economic growth with an aim to reduce poverty significantly, they said, adding that tremendous successes were achieved in socio-economic development over the last five years that had brought down poverty rate to 31.5 per cent from 40 per cent. Thanking the government for keeping adequate allocation from own sources in the budget for the construction of Padma Bridge, the lawmakers demanded naming this mega project after the name of Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib, wife of Bangladesh’s founder Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In the proposed budget, the government has set a target of achieving 7.3 percent growth and allocated Tk 803.15 billion for Annual Development Programme (ADP) which are realistic, they said, according to BSS.