Photo: Collected
An inflation target of 6.75% and an export growth target of 8% is very unrealistic, said Fahmida Khatun, research director and head of research at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).
Inflation was above 9% in May, so bringing it below 7% would be challenging without any targeted steps. And the export growth this year was only 2%. Where will the extra 6% come from?" said Fahmida Khatun during a post-budget press briefing on Friday (7 June).
She said more investment is needed to reign in inflation. In FY24, the total gross investment target was 31%, which later stood at 23.5%.
"This fiscal's target has been set at 27.3%. Where will we get the investment from? There have been no steps taken to increase this investment," she said.
Private sector credit growth was 10% in FY24 and this fiscal's target has been set at 9%. However, for private sector credit people need to take loans from banks, but the government has also increased taking loans from the banks. So, will banks be able to giver loans to individuals and businesses when needed?" asked the CPD research head.
With an eye towards battling inflation, Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali unveiled the Tk7.97 lakh crore proposed national budget for the fiscal year 2024-25.
He announced the largest-ever budget for Bangladesh before the Parliament yesterday (6 June), a long way from the first budget of Tk786 crore placed by Tajuddin Ahmad for the FY1972-73.
Earlier in May, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had given the nod to the budget size.
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