The entrepreneurs of local carton producers association urged the government to reduce the import duty from 15 percent to 5 percent on raw materials of local packaging and printing industry like plastic packaging in the budget for 2020-21.

The private sector, affected during the COVID-19 induced shutdown, did not get priority for sustainable recovery in the proposed budget, economists say.

Describing the recently proposed national budget as ‘humanitarian budget’, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Monday said the people have been given priority in this one.

Unnayan Onneshan (UO), an independent multidisciplinary think-tank, observed that the proposed budget lacks measures necessary to address the macroeconomic, medium term and institutional challenges facing the economy at the advent of a pandemic while the expected growth rate of 8.2 per cent might be deemed unrealistic.

Economists say implementation of the ‘loan dependant’ budget for 2020-21 fiscal year will be a big challenge for the government as the collection of revenue has shrunk amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) President Shams Mahmud on Thursday said the proposed national budget for the 2020-21 financial year is an ambitious one but finds it as business-friendly.

As the country grapples with coronavirus pandemic, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Thursday proposed an allocation of Tk29,247 crore for health services and health education sector, up by 23.44 percent from last year’s revised allocation.

The country’s power and energy sector has received an allocation of Tk 26,758 crore in the proposed national budget for the fiscal year 2020-21 placed in the Jatiya Sangsad by Finance Ministry AHM Mustafa Kamal on Thursday.  

The government has proposed an amount of Tk 10,000 crore to meet emergency requirements caused by COVID-19  saying it will do whatever is needed to address the pandemic.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Thursday set an ambitious target of 8.2 percent GDP growth  for the next fiscal with a comprehensive plan that includes four main strategies  although he himself admitted that all calculations about the global economy have turned upside down under the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic.