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Published : 11 Jun 2026, 11:26 AM
After a gap of 20 years, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is set to present a national budget in parliament after it swept to power with an absolute majority in Bangladesh’s 13th general election.
Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, the finance minister under BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, will table the budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year before the parliament at 3pm on Thursday.
The proposed outlay, estimated at around Tk 9.3 trillion, will be Bangladesh's 56th national budget. It continues a journey that began in 1972 when Tajuddin Ahmad announced the country's first budget of Tk 7.86 billion after independence.
The last time a BNP government presented a budget in parliament was in the 2006-07 fiscal year, when then finance minister M Saifur Rahman unveiled the budget during the final year of the late prime minister Khaleda Zia's administration.
The budget this year is being presented under a transformed political landscape shaped by the July Uprising, with an elected government once again returning to parliament to table the national spending plan.
Last year, the budget was presented outside parliament. Salehuddin Ahmed, finance advisor to the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, announced the budget through state-run broadcaster BTV.
The proposed budget for FY2026-27 is expected to be passed on Jun 30 and will take effect from Jul 1, marking the start of the new fiscal year.
Apart from FY2024-25, another budget was presented outside parliament in 2008 under the military-backed caretaker government of Fakhruddin Ahmed. On Jun 9 that year, then finance advisor AB Mirza Md Azizul Islam announced a Tk 999.62 billion budget for FY2008-09.
Since independence, a total of 55 national budgets have been presented by 16 finance ministers or officials assigned the responsibility, including finance advisers and martial law administrators, under various military and democratic governments.
The record for presenting the highest number of budgets is jointly held by two late finance ministers—M Saifur Rahman and Abul Maal Abdul Muhith— each of whom delivered 12 budgets over three terms.
After assuming power in 1976-77, Ziaur Rahman initially retained responsibility for the finance ministry and presented budgets for the next three years. MN Huda presented the budget once in FY1979-80. From FY1980-81 onward, Saifur Rahman, serving under the governments of Ziaur Rahman and later Khaleda Zia, presented 12 budgets. Combined, BNP administrations have delivered a total of 16 national budgets.
Under the Awami League's five terms in office, Tajuddin Ahmad presented three budgets, Azizur Rahman one, Abul Maal Abdul Muhith 12 consecutive budgets, AHM Mustafa Kamal five, and Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali one.
