Government expenditure to be reduced by Tk 2,000 crore, revised budget proposal in Parliament

A revised and supplementary budget proposal has been presented in the National Parliament, reducing government expenditure for the current fiscal year. The amendment has been brought with the aim of reducing economic pressure, controlling inflation and increasing the efficiency of government expenditure.

Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury presented the revised budget proposal for the fiscal year 2025-26 in the session of the National Parliament on Monday (June 15).

The new proposal has been proposed to reduce the total government expenditure by Tk 2,000 crore to Tk 7,88,000 crore. Earlier, the expenditure amount in the main budget was estimated at Tk 7,90,000 crore.

The Finance Minister said that this adjustment in expenditure has been made as the pace of implementation of the Annual Development Program (ADP) is lower than expected. The total deficit in the revised budget is estimated at about Tk 2,000 crore, which is 3.3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

He said that in order to restore economic stability, emphasis is being placed on reducing waste in government expenditure, controlling unnecessary expenses and reducing administrative expenses.

The Finance Minister also said that despite changes in the subsidy management in the energy and power sectors due to the international situation, social security programs will continue. Family cards, farmer cards and support programs for people associated with various religious institutions are also included in this.

After the budget presentation, discussions and voting on the approval demands of various ministries began in the parliament. 25 approval demands have been made in this year's supplementary budget. Opposition members have submitted 304 retrenchment proposals against these demands.

According to parliamentary rules, although discussions are held in certain sectors, not all proposals will be voted on. Due to time constraints, discussions will be held on a few important ministries and departments, and the remaining demands will be settled through direct voting.