Sheikh Hasina has threatened the private banks with tough actions if they do not lower the rates of interest they charge to lend to or below 9 percent.
Budget brings more people under social safety net
The proposed budget for fiscal 2019-20 has brought more people under the social safety net as pledged by the ruling party in the pre-election manifesto.
Published : 13 June 2019, 11:51 AM
Updated : 13 June 2019, 11:51 AM
The Awami League’s manifesto in 2018 said the budget allocation in this sector will be doubled in the next five years.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal proposed Tk 743.67 billion in the sector, which is 14.21 percent of total budget and 2.58 percent of GDP in FY2019-20.
In the revised budget of FY2018-19, the allocation was Tk. 644.04 billion.
The finance minister presented a set of proposals to widen the remit of social safety net programmes in FY2019-20.
Those include state honorarium for the valiant freedom fighters to be increased from Tk 10,000 to Tk 12,000; the number of recipients of adult allowances to be increased from 4 million to 4.4 million; the number of recipients of allowances for widows and victims of domestic violence to be increased to 1.7 million from 1.4 million.
The number of beneficiaries of allowances for all insolvent persons with disabilities will be increased from one million to 1.54 million. The number of recipients of stipends for disabled students will be increased to 100,000 from 90,000.
The rate of stipends to be increased from Tk 700 to Tk 750 for primary students, from Tk 750 to Tk 800 for secondary students, and from Tk 850 to Tk 900 for higher secondary students.
To bring all third gender people under the net, the number of beneficiaries of Third Gender Livelihood Development programmes to be increased to 6,000; additional 20,000 beneficiaries from the gypsies and disadvantaged communities to be included in the current list of 64,000 persons.
The number of beneficiaries of the financial assistance programme for patients suffering from cancer, kidney, liver cirrhosis, paralysed due to stroke and congenital heart diseases will be increased from 15,000 to 30,000.
The number of beneficiaries of livelihood development programmes for tea-garden workers to be increased from 40,000 to 50,000.
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Transparency International, Bangladesh, or TIB, has come down hard at the government for proposing scopes to legalise undisclosed income in the 2019-20 national budget.
The Centre for Policy Dialogue says the proposed budget is full of promises, with no specific ways to implement it.
BGMEA President Rubana Huq has said she is “70 percent happy” with the proposed national budget for the next fiscal year.
