Bangladesh Government employees who are expecting a new pay scale in the upcoming budget of fiscal year 2023-24, have to be satisfied with a maximum 20 percent dearness allowance (DA). Highest importance has been given to the stability of the macro economy of the country in the next budget. The prime minister will finalize the budget proposal in a meeting to be held in the second week of May, finance ministry sources said. The ministry, as per the direction of the prime minister, has set a total budget of Tk 759,955 crore for FY 2023-24. Highest allocations have been kept for interest payment and subsidy expenditure. A proposal for a special allowance has been prepared, taking into account the price hike of essentials due to the ongoing inflation, sources said. Read More: Next budget will make businesses and common people happy: Finance Minister Officials directly involved in budget formulation have confirmed that there will be no new pay scale. The upcoming election year budget is the last budget of the current government. In the new budget, there is no allocation for the nationalization of schools and colleges or the inclusion of MPOs, said officials of the finance department. Officials of the finance ministry said that government employees had been expecting a new pay scale in the upcoming budget for a long time, but the prime minister rejected it. In the current fiscal year 2022-23, the government has reduced expenditure in various sectors. Over Tk 1,000 crore has been saved from salaries and allowances (foreign travel) of government employees. Read More: BGMEA donates part of money budgeted for iftar programme to old-age home The total allocation for salaries and allowances in the revised budget for the financial year 2022-23 was Tk 73,173 crore. However, the finance department has estimated an allocation of Tk 77,000 crore for salaries and allowances in the upcoming fiscal year. The government usually announces new pay scale every five years. After implementing the seventh pay scale in 2009, the government implemented a new pay scale in 2015 by increasing the salary by almost 100 percent. Since then, government employees are getting a 5 percent increment every year in July. Eight years have passed since then and different organizations of government employees are demanding a new pay scale, citing the price hike of goods, including food, due to the Ukraine-Russia war. According to official documents, in the new budget, subsidy expenses would take up Tk 100,134 crore. The total revenue collection target would be Tk 500,000 crore, which is 15 percent more than that of this fiscal year. Read more: CPD bats for special increment for inflation-hit public/private employees in next national budget Of the sum, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has been tasked with fetching Tk 430,000 crore, which is 16.2 percent more than this year. Bangladesh's Annual Development Program (ADP) has been set at Tk 263,000 crore while expected GDP growth is 7.5 percent. The estimated inflation has been set at 6 percent that was 5.6 percent in the budget of 2022-23.

Ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, the government Sunday asked to pay the salaries and allowances of the employees of government, semi-government, and autonomous institutions by April 25. The government has decided to pay salaries and allowances by April 25, the Finance Division said in a notification, as Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on May 3, subject to the sighting of the moon. Also, retired government employees will get their monthly pensions at the same time. Also read: HC seeks explanation over permission before arresting govt employees

The High Court on Wednesday stayed a government order on the withdrawal of freedom fighter’s allowance that Birangana Majeda had been getting for four years until 2020. The HC also issued a rule asking the government to explain as to why the authorities concerned should not be directed to restore the allowance of Majeda, who uses one name, she is entitled to get as a freedom fighter. A vacation bench of Justice Mamnoon Rahman and Justice Khandaker Diliruzzaman issued the rule after hearing a petition filed by Majeda, wife of Taslim Uddin of Ranishankoil upazila in Thakurgaon district. Read: Graft case against ex-CJ Sinha: HC asks 2 acquitted persons to surrender Barrister Sabrina Jerin pleaded for Majeda in the court. The government recognized Birangana Majeda of Rautnagar village in Ranishankoil upazila as a freedom fighter and a gazette was published in this regard on July 21, 2016. Since the publication of the gazette, Majeda started getting her allowance as a freedom fighter. But 0n October 20, 2020, the government published another gazette in which another woman also named Majeda, wife of Daraj Uddin  recognising her as a freedom fighter. This came after the second woman claimed that she was the real freedom fighter and challenged the status of Majeda, wife of Taslim Uddin. Read: Khaleda’s treatment abroad: HC likely to hear petition Wednesday After that, the freedom fighter allowance of Majeda, wife of Taslim Uddin had been revoked. Later, she sent a legal notice to the ministry of liberation war affairs and National Freedom Fighter Council seeking restoration of her freedom fighter allowance. She filed the writ as the authorities failed to respond to the legal notice.

A father-son in Chuadanga were found where the son is six years older than the father according to the national identity card (NID). According to the National Identity Card (NID), Md Jamat Ali of Jibannagar upazila in Chuadanga is 44 years old. But his son Monirul Islam is 50 years old on his NID. However, father Jamaat Ali is actually 70 years old. But the age has been reduced by 26 years in his national identity card. Read:NID services will be made dynamic, says law minister In this regard, Jamat Ali said, "I am facing various problems at different times due to this wrong age in the national identity card." "I am not getting any government facilities including an old age allowance card. I went to the Jibannagar Upazila Election Office to correct my national identity card. However, they say it will take time to correct." Meanwhile, Jibannagar Upazila Election Officer Kamrul Hasan said the problem was believed to be due to informational errors of voters before 2009. However, the victim has not yet applied for the correction of his NID. "If he applies, it will be corrected soon", the official added.

The allowance for the valiant Freedom Fighters of the country is going to see a significant jump of 66.66% in the coming 2021-22 fiscal. However the budget allocation for the purpose would not see a massive rise as the number of Freedom Fighters fell by 23.37% in the new published partial list of the Liberation War Affairs Ministry. The total allocation for the purpose in 2019-20 and 2020-21 fiscals was Tk 3385.05 crore each. The allocation was Tk 3200 crore and Tk 2996.15 crore in 2017-18 and 2018-19 fiscals respectively. Read Obaidul calls for ending divisions between freedom fighters According to the available data, the allocation was Tk 2196.06 crore for around 185,000 Freedom Fighters in 2016-17 fiscal whereas the amount was Tk 1920 crore for 180,00 freedom Fighters in 2015-16 fiscal. For 200,000 Freedom Fighters the amount was Tk 1200 crore in 2014-15 fiscal while Tk 700 in 2013-14 fiscal. The number of government listed Freedom Fighters to be provided allowances was 150,000 in 2012-13, 2011-12 and 2010-11 fiscals. In these thee fiscals the allocated money was Tk 360 crore each. The number in 2009-10 fiscal was 125,000 where the government had to allocate Tk Tk 225 crore and in 2008-09 fiscal the allocation was Tk 108 crore for 100,000 Freedom Fighrs. READ: Govt to build 30,000 houses for insolvent freedom fighters The Prime Minister in February of this year had made an announcement while inaugurating the transfer of monthly allowance to freedom fighters and their families through electronic fund transfer system of the Bangladesh Bank that the allowances of the Freedom Fighters who are getting Tk 12,000 per month would be Tk 20,000 from the next fiscal. At that time, the number of valiant Freedom Fighters who were in the government list was 205,206.Of them, the families of martyred war heroes are getting Tk 30,000 a month, while that of war-wounded ones are getting Tk 25,000. The families of the seven Bir Shresthas, the highest gallantry award, are receiving Tk 35,000 while recipients of Bir Uttams get Tk 25,000, Bir Bikram Tk 20,000, and Bir Pratik Tk 15,000. The rest freedom fighters get Tk 12,000. READ: List of 1,47,537 freedom fighters published Wounded freedom fighters get free medical care and those without homes get housing. Freedom fighters also get five festival bonuses from the government. But in March 25, Liberation War Affairs published a partial list of Freedom Fighters containing 147,537 names while in May 9 ithas published the final list (second part) of the names of the heroic freedom fighters (FFs) including an additional 6,988 names. Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque while publishing the partial list told that the final list of freedom fighters will be published by June 30 after further scrutiny of the list of the freedom fighters who are getting allowances. According to the sources in the Liberation War Affairs Ministry, the officials of the Ministry are working to prepare the list for finalising the number of the lists of Freedom Fighters, who will get the allowances. "Soon the number and the total money will be sent to the Finance Ministry," a senior official said. Read 2,000 students receive ‘Muktijoddha Scholarship’

The allocation of money for salaries and allowances of the public sector will see an uptrend from the next fiscal after a span of four years.  The government is going to allocate some 12.2% of the total budget in the upcoming fiscal of 2021-22 for salaries and allowances to the public servants and other related pockets. The allocation of this sector will be 12.5% in 2022-23 fiscal of the total budget, according to an official document. Read BSMMU announces Tk 602.73cr budget for FY 2020-21 The estimated amount of money for the next two fiscals would be Tk 745.3 billion and Tk 869.8 billion respectively. After the 2016-17 fiscal, the amount of spending in salaries and allowances for the public servants, as a proportion of the budget witnessed a downward slide. In 2016-17 fiscal the allocation was 18.2% while it nosedived to 14.8% in 2017-18 fiscal. The allocated amount for the 2016-17 fiscal was Tk 490.43 billion whereas the allocation reduced to Tk 478.5 billion in the following fiscal. As per the document, the allocation in 2013-14 fiscal was Tk 263.94 billion (14%) and Tk 288.20 billion (14.8%) in 2014-15. Also read: When govt allowances kick in at 90! The allocation saw a sharp rise in 2015-16 and 2016-17 fiscals with 16.7% and 18.2% of the total budget allocation. The amounts during these two fiscals for the salaries and other allowances were Tk 400.50 billion and Tk 490.43 billion. The document said that the rise in the allocation occurred due to implementation of the new pay scale for the public servants that continued for the two consecutive fiscals. The expenditure in the sector reduced to 14.8% (Tk 478.5 billion) of the budget in 2017-18 fiscal and 13.6% (Tk 534 billion) in 2018-19 fiscal. The trend continued in 2019-20 fiscal with 12.2% and in 2020-21 fiscal with 11.6%. The allocation for the fiscals were Tk 607.5 billion and Tk 650 billion respectively. Also read: All senior citizens to receive old-age allowance by 2025: Minister The official document expected that the trend of expenditure for the salaries and allowances in the coming two fiscals would be in the normal trend with 12.2% and 12.5% allocation of the total budget. The country is likely to get Tk 5933.14 billion budget for 2021-22 fiscal, Tk 253.14 billion higher than the running one, aiming to face the COVID-19 pandemic challenge for recovering the economy. Amid the coronavirus crisis, the government had taken up a comprehensive plan with four main strategies. These are: discouraging luxury expenditures, prioritising government spending that creates jobs, creating loan facilities through commercial banks at subsidised interest rate for the affected industries and businesses, and expanding the coverage of the government’s social safety net programmes. Read Budget: Prices of tobacco products up, gold down Meanwhile, the government has estimated to bring down its expenditure in current account while increasing the capital expenditure in the next 2021-22 and 2022-23 fiscals. According to an official document, the current expenditure for 2021-22 and 2022-23 fiscal has been estimated at 54.4% and 54.5% of the total budget respectively. Salaries and allowances of public servants, purchase of product and service, compensation and relocation expenses, payment of interest against foreign and domestic loans are under the segment of current expenditure. Besides, ‘food accounts’ and ‘expense for structural coordination’ are also under this expenditure. Also read 5pc increment for non-govt edu teachers, employees announced On the other hand, government funded annual development programme (ADP) and non-ADP capital expenditure are the main two items under the capital expenditure. Besides, loan and advance, development programmes from revenue budget, projects outside the ADP and non-ADP food for work programme and handover expenses are also under this expenditure.