Economist Devprit Bhattacharya said the new government is preparing to form its first national budget amid structural weakness, incomplete reforms and growing economic pressure, he said, saying that limited financial capacity is one of the most significant challenges for the government in the present.
He said these things at the pre-budget midata briefing titled ‘Citizens and Expectations Around Budget’ at the Center for Policy Doll (CPD) office in Dhanmondi in the capital on Tuesday.
Honorable Fellow of the Center for Policy Dattlelogue, Devprit Bhattacharya, said the government is now working within a strict budget limit, where it is becoming increasingly difficult to balance between the bucket and wealth.
He said that in this situation, maintaining financial discipline and setting a careful priority in cost may increase the pressure on the economy if the budget does not plan in line with the reality.
He also said that the initiative taken by the previous government regarding the pay scale in the last meeting of their mater has been imposed on the current government.
Dr. Devapri, said the current government can reconsider the issue by forming a commission on its own initiative, and in this case the report of the previous government's pay commission may be taken as a supporting component, but there is no opportunity to accept it directly or unquestionably.
Emphasizing on the recovery of money being smuggled abroad, it is important to bring illegally removed wealth back home. He asked the question of the return of relatively small amounts of money from abroad recently, why there is no progress in bringing the money back to the return of the money.
Regarding the revenue collection, he said, "If the political will and administrative complexity is removed, the revenue can be significantly increased, according to him, progress in this field was slow due to the limited political capacity of the interim government, but for the current elected government, the beginning is the most important. If the desired progress is not achieved in the first year, it will be difficult to achieve the end of the students."
In the government's government and subsidy management, he said, "The pressure of subsidy in agriculture and energy sector can be further. Therefore, he suggested reducing the dependence on cash incentives by identifying the inefficient and unprofitable sectors. In the coming budget, he said to limit the reliance on cash incentives, to strengthen the tax in the upcoming budget, to increase the tax revenue and the recovery of the cashier.
He highlighted the four major pressures in the current government's upcoming budget, first, the economy is still inflicting on the long-standing structural weakness and the incomplete policy initiatives of the previous couplings, while the new administration has been at a transitional period, which is making decision-making complicated.
Second, the pressure to implement the election promises is on the government, as well as the reform activities have to be taken in important areas like increasing revenue collection and changing the government's government management.
Thirdly, the scope of the expansion of the budget is being shrinking due to the limitation of revenue collection and the crisis of financial resources, and the scope of the budget is shrinking, and it is very difficult to increase the size of the budget or ensure an effective implementation.
Fourthly, imbalance in transactions with the outside world is further complicated by the situation of remittance flow, exports, foreign direct investment, foreign aid and debt repayment pressure—all instigating instability in foreign sectors.
In this way, uncertainty is also raising concerns in the global context. He warned that geopolitical tensions and fuel prices are putting the country's economy under new pressure.
Devapritha Bhattacharya said Bangladesh is now entering a level where it is necessary to determine the realistic expectations in the budget. In this context, the middle-class plan should be developed along with ensuring a short-term stability.
According to him, if these challenges are not properly addressed, the upcoming budget may fail to play an expected role in achieving the stability of the economy and sustaining growth.