To What Extent Is The New Budget People-Friendly?

A budget is the expected revenue and spending of the government in a financial year. When the elected government of a nation is entrusted with the duty of the country, the government plans ahead and decides the destiny of the country. Which truly takes form via the budget. The plan of how much money will be spent in a specific year is also called budget. The finance minister of the new administration submitted the budget for the financial year 2024-2025 on 6 June amid the uncertainty in the world market and the effect of the adverse geopolitical scenario. Economists' study suggests that ordinary people want commodities prices to come under control. There is inflationary pressure in the nation. But the entire earth is suddenly shrinking. Developed nations such as USA, Japan etc. have boosted the policy interest rates. The US dollar has grown more costly than before. Bangladesh government has to fund the budget with a significant gap of revenue and spending for a long period. Yet the budget amount is growing every year. Which is impacting the regular people of the nation. Because a big portion of the budget comes from taxes paid by residents.

Most of the everyday essentials on the market are beyond the budget of the average man. Just hearing about the budget, the ordinary folks feel sad. This year's budget may potentially boost the price of everyday needs. So people from all walks of life want Bajar to be people-friendly. As a consequence of the market syndicate, the costs of everyday essentials and the expense of life have escalated so much. Common folks have to suffer owing to pricing and product inconsistencies in the market. On the contrary, the syndicate members or a few of individuals are profiting. Therefore, the budget of the next financial year should be the budget to break this syndicate, the budget to limit the growing commodity prices under the excuse of Russia-Ukraine conflict. The funds should be granted to implement steps so that people do not have to go to the market and come home with empty packages, but instead put a smile on their faces. So that the wealth is not concentrated in the hands of a few individuals, on the contrary, the budget should be dedicated for the provision of fairness and equality.

At the pace that nations like India, Nepal and Sri Lanka are gaining expatriate revenue by sending talented people, Bangladesh too has to build a framework and incorporate this in the budget. Depreciation of the dollar is caused by the growth in the value of the dollar. This may alter the amount of the budget. Agriculture, exports and remittances are one of the primary pillars of Bangladesh's economy. The United States is Bangladesh's greatest single export market.

The continuous global volatility will generate a significant problem in overseas export markets. The effect may also fall on the export industry. Then the dollar problem is likely to escalate. At now, it is feasible to cut the price of diesel and octane by 5 to 10 taka per liter, experts claimed. It would not make sense to keep BPC profitable while people are suffering from inflationary pressures. Inflation touched a decade high of 9.89% in May. Real inflation, however, is substantially higher. Several research institutes' findings indicate that the current inflation rate is between 12 and 14%. The country will not benefit from 7.5 percent growth if this keeps up.

The only viable solution for these three economic challenges—stabilizing the macroeconomy, reining in inflation, and addressing the dollar crisis—is to implement an austerity budget. We ought to abandon our budgetary practice of borrowing money to buy ghee. Greater revenue should be gathered from individuals with higher incomes and wealth in order to guarantee justice or equality. In this instance, the government should improve the collection of wealth taxes. Tax dollars should be used for public benefit, not looting. Finally, there is no replacement for a pro-people budget in a welfare state.


Sk Shahrier Hossen is a student
of Jagannath University, Dhaka.