Interim Government to Announce Budget on 2 June

Story: In a break from tradition, the interim government has announced that it will unveil the national budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year on 2 June.

This decision was made during a meeting of the Coordination Council on Financial, Monetary, and Exchange Rate Affairs, along with the Asset Management Committee, held at the Secretariat on Tuesday. The meeting was chaired by Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, according to sources familiar with the proceedings.

This budget will be the first to be presented under the interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus.

While Bangladesh’s national budgets are typically presented in Parliament on a Thursday in June, this year’s budget is set to be declared on a Monday, marking a departure from the usual schedule. The proposed budget is expected to total Tk 7.9 trillion (790,000 crore).

The announcement will take place ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha holidays, which are expected to begin in the second week of June. As is customary, a post-budget press conference will be held the following day by the finance adviser, as confirmed by sources within the Ministry of Finance.

The budget for the current (2024-25) fiscal year stands at Tk 7.97 trillion, meaning the upcoming budget may be around Tk 70 billion (7,000 crore) lower than the previous one.

With no national parliament in place, the finance adviser will present the budget via a televised broadcast. The budget will be declared through a Presidential Ordinance, bypassing the usual parliamentary procedure, which requires the finance minister of a political government to present the budget in Parliament.

This marks a significant moment in Bangladesh’s financial history, as the interim government manages the country’s finances in the absence of a functioning political administration.