Salehuddin projects Tk 2.26 lakh crore budget deficit

The proposed budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 has projected a deficit of Tk 2,26,000 crore, down from Tk 2,56,000 crore in the current fiscal year, representing 3.6% of the GDP. 

Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed said this while presenting the proposed national budget for FY26 through a pre-recorded speech aired through Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar on Monday, June 2.

“Although the expenditure on principal and interest payment of foreign loans increased due to the huge depreciation of the Tk against the US dollar during the previous government, our overall budget deficit will remain at a tolerable level,” he said.

“Of the total deficit in the proposed budget, I propose to spend Tk 1,25,000 crore from domestic sources and Tk 1,01,000 crore from foreign sources,” he added.

The finance adviser also said that in the next financial year, the total expenditure on interest payment has been estimated at Tk 1,22,000 crore, including Tk 1 lakh crore for domestic interest payment and Tk 22,000 crore for foreign interest payment.

The budget deficit for the current fiscal year was originally estimated to be Tk 2,56,000 crore. In the revised budget, the deficit has been proposed to be Tk 2,26,000 crore, which will be 4.1 percent of the GDP. 

“Of the total deficit in the revised budget, I propose to collect Tk 1,17,000 crore from domestic sources and Tk 1,09,000 crore from foreign sources,” he added.

Source: BSS