Bangladesh to unveil historic 55th budget outside parliament

NN Online:
From Tajuddin Ahmad’s Tk 7.86 billion wartime budget in 1972 to a proposed Tk 7.9 trillion for 2025–26, Bangladesh’s economic story reaches its 55th chapter with a landmark shift: the national budget will be presented outside parliament for the first time since independence.

In the aftermath of the student-led July Uprising and the collapse of the previous government, Finance Advisor Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed will deliver the new fiscal plan at 4 PM on Monday via a televised address broadcast on BTV and all major private channels.

This will be the first off-parliament budget since 2008, when AB Mirza Md Azizul Islam presented the national budget under a military-backed caretaker regime. Now, under the interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, former central bank governor Salehuddin takes the helm amid political uncertainty and transition.

Over the decades, 15 individuals—including finance ministers, advisors, and military administrators—have presented 54 budgets across various regimes. The late M Saifur Rahman and Abul Maal Abdul Muhith jointly hold the record for the most, with 12 budgets each.

During the Awami League’s most recent 15.5-year tenure, Muhith presented 10 budgets, AHM Mustafa Kamal five, and Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali one. Traditionally, elected governments debated and passed budgets in parliament by late June. With no legislature currently in place, that process is suspended this year.

Instead, the proposed budget will be reviewed by the Advisory Council and enacted through a presidential ordinance. Some traditions will continue: Salehuddin is scheduled to hold a press conference the next day and plans to consult stakeholders throughout June.

The proposed Tk 7.9 trillion budget is slightly smaller than last year’s Tk 7.97 trillion plan—presented by Mahmood Ali but left unexecuted after the fall of the Awami League on August 5, 2024. If adopted, this will mark the first time since independence that a budget is smaller than the previous year’s.

The 2025–26 fiscal year is set to begin on July 1, following expected approval of the budget on June 30.
If finalised, this would mark the first time since independence that the size of the proposed budget is smaller than the previous fiscal year’s plan.