Dhaka: Bangladesh Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has unveiled the proposed national budget of Tk 7,61,785 crore for the 2023-24 fiscal year at Jatiya Sangsad.
He placed the budget on Thursday afternoon. It is his fifth budget, Independent Bangladesh’s 52nd, and Awami League’s 15th in its three tenures.
Earlier, the proposed budget was approved in the meeting of the Cabinet Division at the parliament with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
The budget, which is Tk 1,01,278 crore more than that of the current amended one, mainly aimed to contain inflation and maintain the pace of high GDP growth.
Prices of some products and services may increase and some others may be cheaper as the finance minister proposed to raise and reduce duties or VAT on those.
Prices up
The products and services which may be costlier include pens, facial tissues, toilet tissues, cement, cashew nuts, Basmati rice, spectacles, LPG cylinder, plastic products, aluminum products, cigarettes, dates, foreign tiles, and mobile phones.
Prices down
The products and services which may be cheaper include sweet, diabetes-cancer-tuberculosis drugs, handmade biscuit-cake, animal food, blender-pressure cooker-juicer, e-commerce delivery charges, helicopter lease, container, sanitary napkin-diaper, LED bulb and switch-socket, and optical fiber.