Restructuring economy is government's top priority: finance minister

The government is working to reduce waste in government expenditure, reduce non-priority spending and ensure thriftiness in administrative outlay, he says

Restructuring Bangladesh's economy by addressing its structural weaknesses, and battling inflationary pressures and global economic instability is one of the top priorities of the current government, says Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury.

The government is working to reduce waste in government expenditure, reduce non-priority spending and ensure thriftiness in administrative outlay in addition to implementing election promises, he said during a discussion on the supplementary budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year in parliament on Monday.

"Since the formation of the current government, the restructuring of the country's economy by addressing the weaknesses of its internal structures, and tackling inflationary pressures and global instability has been one of the government's top priorities,” the senior BNP leader added.

He said the government has taken various effective initiatives to improve the living standards of the people and revive the economy.

Also highlighting the issue of subsidies in the power and energy sectors, the finance minister said that they had to be adjusted due to global economic headwinds.

He also spoke of addition, Family Cards, Farmer Cards and the expansion of honorarium-based social security programmes for imams, priests and muezzins.

"For these activities, some adjustment of expenditure and deficit in the supplementary budget had to be made," he said.

Proposal to Reduce Expenditure in the Revised Budget

Discussing the revised budget for the current fiscal year, the finance minister said the government's net spending in the main budget for FY26 was estimated at Tk 7.9 trillion.

However, due to the slow pace of implementation, especially the Annual Development Programme (ADP) in the pre-election period, it has been proposed to reduce the total expenditure by Tk 20 billion to Tk 7.88 trillion in the revised budget.

He said the budget deficit in the revised budget has been estimated at Tk 2 trillion, which is about 3 percent of the GDP.

The finance minister said that the allocations for 27 ministries, departments and other institutions have increased in the revised budget, amounting to Tk 561 billion.

On the other hand, the outlay for 35 ministries and departments has decreased by Tk 593.48 billion.

Thanking the members of parliament who participated in the discussion on the supplementary budget, he urged them to approve the proposed grants.