The proposed budget of Bangladesh in the fiscal year 2023-24 has set an estimated Gross Domestic Product (GPD) worth of 50.06 lakh crore with a 7.5 percent annual growth.

The inflation target was set to 6 percent which is now 9.28 percent in the proposed budget.

The 7.5 percent growth projection could be deemed as ambitious given the uncertainties in the global economy and various other challenges at home.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal explained his position on why he is expecting higher growth this time despite the economic pressures.

Read more: Finance Minister unveils Tk 761,785 crore national budget

“We expect to return to a higher growth trajectory and achieve a 7.5 percent GDP growth, by way of investing in the productive sectors and stimulating productivity and domestic demand,” he said.

Kamal focused on investment in the 100 special economic zones and completing ongoing mega-projects to achieve the GDP target.

In FY19, Bangladesh achieved a record 8.15 percent GDP growth. Then came the pandemic. The finance minister set a growth target of 8.2 percent in FY20, but the actual growth achieved was 3.45 percent, the lowest in several decades.

The growth rate increased to 6.94 percent in FY21 after recovering from pandemic effects. The GDP growth further increased to 7.1 percent in FY22.

Read more: Budget FY23-24: Focus should be on tackling macroeconomic challenges, says Dr Atiur Rahman