The government of Bangladesh is projecting to rein in the budget deficit back within 5 per cent of GDP by 2024-25 fiscal from the current 5.5 per cent, reports UNB.
The budget deficit for 2023-24 fiscal has been projected at 5.1 per cent, according to an official budget document.
The revised deficit in fiscal 2021-22 was 5.1 percent. The deficit for 2020-21 fiscal was 3.7 per cent.
The current deficit remains higher than the norm prior to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic: the deficit averaged 3.5 per cent of GDP in FY15-FY19.
According to the document, the size of the country’s GDP for the running 2022-23 fiscal is Tk 44,49,959 crore.
It will be Tk 49, 91, 337 crore for the next 2023-24 fiscal while Tk 56, 06, 269 crore for 2024-25 fiscal.
The document said that to mitigate the budget deficit the government will bank on the internal resources.
In the running 2022-23 fiscal 3.3 percent of the GDP will come from the internal resources and 2.4 per cent of the GDP will come from the banking sector.
The external financing will contribute some 2.2 per cent of the GDP in the running fiscal, as per the document.
For the 2023-24 fiscal 2.9 per cent of the GDP will come from the internal resources and 2.3 per cent of the GDP will be from the banking sector.
The external financing will contribute some 2.2 per cent of the GDP in the current fiscal.
For 2024-25 fiscal 2.8 per cent of the GDP will come from the internal resources and 2.3 per cent of the GDP will come from the banking sector.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
