Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed today said that the interim government has tried its best to deliver a people-oriented and business-friendly budget while the main goal is to award a practical, pragmatic and implementable budget. “Despite having many adversities, we want to move ahead with cooperation from all. We want to improve the living standards of people and thus move forward the country so that Bangladesh becomes an example in the international arena,” he said. The Finance Adviser flanked by other advisers and senior officials of the government was addressing a post-budget press conference at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in…
Author: diplomaticjourna_diplomaticjourna
Delegations from Kyiv and Moscow on Monday held a second round of direct talks on the possibility of ending the war in Ukraine, triggered by Russia’s February 2022 invasion. The two sides exchanged their visions of what a peace settlement could look like at the negotiations, mediated by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, which once again did not yield a ceasefire. Despite the flurry of diplomacy urged on by US President Donald Trump, their demands have thus far been irreconcilable. – Territory for Russia – Hours after the talks concluded, Russian state news agencies published the full list of Moscow’s…
UN chief Antonio Guterres called Monday for an independent investigation into the killing and wounding of scores of Palestinians near a US-backed aid centre in Gaza the day before. Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli gunfire killed at least 31 people and wounded 176 near the aid distribution site in the southern city of Rafah on Sunday, with medics at nearby hospitals also reporting a deluge of gunshot wound victims. The Israeli military denied firing at people “while they were near or within” the site. But a military source acknowledged “warning shots were fired towards several suspects” overnight about a…
Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) in its immediate reaction on the proposed budget today welcomed the proposal to increase the tax-free income limit to Tk 375,000. “Some good steps have been taken in the proposed budget for the fiscal 2025-26,” Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the CPD, told a briefing at its office in the city. The CPD said the finance adviser presented the budget with a focus on the current economic crisis—high inflation, stagnation in investment, lack of employment opportunities, and overall low revenue collection. “If we look at the Annual Development Programme (ADP), it has been reduced by…
The proposed budget today suggested allocation of Tk 116cr allocation for cabinet division for the 2025-2026 fiscal. According to the budget documents unveiled by Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed of the amount, Taka 96 crore was proposed for operational and Taka 20 crore for development purposes. The revised budget of the outgoing fiscal allocated Taka 111 crore for the cabinet division. The proposed allocation, however, is Taka six crore less than the last fiscal’s original national budget which had sanctioned Taka 96 crore for operational and Taka 20 crore for development purposes of the cabinet division.
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) today welcomed some measures taken in the proposed national budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 (FY26) and suggested maintaining austerity in government expenditure. “We have seen some positive steps such as controlling inflation, few tax waivers, automated return system, reducing few advance tax, central bonded warehouse, VAT waiver on LNG import,” said DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed in his initial budget reaction. He said Taka 100 crore fund for the youth entrepreneurs is a good move. Regarding tax free income limit, he said, that this year the tax free income limit for the individual…
Rangpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry RpCCI) President Md Akbar Ali has said the proposed national budget for the fiscal 2025-26 will play a positive role in curbing inflation and improving the overall living standard across the country. In an immediate reaction to the budget of Tk 7,90,000 crore presented by Finance Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, the RpCCI president welcomed several initiatives outlined in the proposal. He said the budget will help reduce unnecessary imports, lower government expenditure, and develop the market and product supply systems. He also praised the steps to protect local industries and reduce import duties on…
Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed today said the government is working to build a society based on three zero. “Our main objective is to build a society based on the Zero Poverty, Zero Unemployment and Zero Carbon principle where everyone will have a decent life and will be free from the vicious cycle of discrimination,” he said. The adviser said this while presenting the proposed national budget for FY26 through a pre-recorded speech aired through Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar. Salehuddin said, “We want to leave a livable habitat for the next generation by implementing the dream with which the…
Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed today proposed to allocate Taka 405.20 crore in the FY2025-26 for the families of martyrs and injured in the July mass uprising. “To preserve the history and memory of the July mass uprising, to rehabilitate the families of the martyrs and injured students and people, and to establish the ideology and spirit of the mass uprising in the state and national life, the ‘July Mass Uprising Directorate’ has been established,” he said. The finance adviser said this while presenting the proposed national budget for FY26 through a pre-recorded speech aired through Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh…
Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed today said that the point-to-point inflation will fall below the 8% mark by June. “The fight against inflation, however, may result in a slightly lower GDP growth rate compared to previous years,” he said while presenting the proposed budget for the FY26 via a pre-recorded telecast speech. According to the provisional estimates, GDP growth in FY2024-25 could be 3.97 percent. “However, we expect the final estimate to be higher. We also expect that the growth rate will rise to 6.5 percent in the medium term,” he added. To maintain the downward trend of inflation, he…
