Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in his budget speech on Thursday proposed an allocation of Tk 699 crore that has been earmarked for the country's cultural sector.

Out of this, 437 crores will go toward operational costs and 262 crores for development, and the proposed budget saw an increase Tk 62 crore than the budget proposed during the previous fiscal year.

For fiscal 2021-22, the proposed budget of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs was Tk 637 crore, which was later revised to Tk 662 crore.

During the budget speech, the Finance Minister said that the government is continuously working to preserve the non-communal heritage of Bengali culture and taking initiatives for the development of language, literature, fine arts, music, drama and more.

Highlighting various activities of the government, AHM Mustafa Kamal said, “We are conducting various activities to preserve and practice the history, traditions and culture of the seven ethnic groups of the country, and working towards a unified cultural development. Regular awards/fellowships are being given in recognition of the contribution of researchers, thinkers and creative minds.”

Apart from this, the program of providing financial assistance to poor cultural workers and cultural institutions is also continuing, he mentioned.

Development of national culture and cultural heritage, research, display, publication of liberation war and contemporary art and literature, identification, excavation, restoration, preservation and display of archaeological artefacts, conservation of copyright of creative creations including historic March 7th speech, Language Martyrs' Day and Bengali New Year are widely encouraged, the Minister said during his speech.