Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has placed the national budget of Tk 6,03,681 crore for the 2021-22 fiscal year which is the biggest budget in the country's history.
This is the third budget of Mustafa Kamal, which coincidentally is the 50th fiscal plan of Bangladesh.
The finance minister has proposed an allocation of Tk 1,07,614 crore for social safety net in the 2021-22 fiscal year budget.
The proposed allocation is 17.83 per cent of the budget and 3.11 per cent of the total GDP.
The allocation increased by Tk 12,040 crore compared to the outgoing 2020-21 fiscal year.
The government has proposed to bring eight lakh more poor elderly citizens under the ‘old-age allowance’ in the next FY21-22 budget.
In the budget, the government has targeted to keep the average inflation rate at 5.3 per cent in fiscal 2021-22 as part of the efforts to tackle the price spiral amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
AHM Mustafa Kamal proposed a 10-year tax exemption for ‘Made in Bangladesh’ products in the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2021-22 in a bid to encourage domestic producers.
He proposed a 5 per cent tax hike for the publicly traded MFS providers and 7.5 per cent for the non-publicly traded providers.
Mustafa Kamal offers a tax exemption for the employers in the fiscal year 2021-22 who will offer employment for them.
He also proposed Tk 27,484 crore for the country’s power and energy sector in the national budget.
An allocation of Tk 100 crore to facilitate the research and development of the country’s health sector was also proposed in the budget.
Expatriate Bangladeshis will continue to enjoy the 2 per cent cash incentive scheme for remittance in the new fiscal year as well.
Meanwhile, the allowances for both the President and Prime Minister’s offices increased in the proposed budget.
A total of Tk 30 crore for the President’s office and Tk 3,907 crore proposed for the Prime Minister Office have been proposed in the budget for 2021-22 fiscal year.
However, allocation for at least 13 ministries and divisions has reduced.