Proposals for the National Budget 2010-11

The upcoming national budget for the fiscal year 2010-11 will be underpinned by a number of challenges in the current national and global contexts. This budget will be the first year of the medium-term planning framework under the Sixth Five Year Plan (FY2011-FY2015) and the 10 year Perspective Plan (Fy2011-Fy2020). Thus the budget will need to reflect the plan priorities. Additionally, the budget will also need to take into account the targets set for the medium term by the government in their election manifesto. The challenge in terms of macroeconomic management in the next fiscal year will be to sustain the positive track record of the recent past years, address the emergent negative signals inherited from FY2009-10 and tackle the new challenges confronting the economy. Whilst Bangladesh has been successful in navigating the turbulent times of the global economic crisis, investment continues to remain the Achilles heels of the Bangladesh economy. The demand-supply gap with regard to electricity and gas is on the rise leading to adverse economy-wide affect. Moreover, inflationary pressure has also started to gain steam in recent times. As the lagged impact of the global economic crisis continues to brew, the national budget for FY2010-11 has to take note of the challenging external environment as well which has undergone important changes in view of policies pursued by Bangladesh’s competitors in addressing the crisis.