Healthcare, education and infrastructure development will get priority in the national budget for the financial year 2018-19 (FY19) to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs).
“The proposed budget will maintain its development spree. The budget will lay emphasis on healthcare, education and infrastructure development to achieve the SDGs,” said Finance Secretary Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury.
He said poor people, including the old, widow and destitute women and the financially insolvent disabled, will get more allowances in the budget as the the allocation for the Social Safety Net Programme will be increased.
“The coverage of the Social Safety Net Programme will be expanded. Also, the amount for the programme will be increased in the next budget,” he added.
The finance secretary informed that the government is likely to increase the amount against various programmes of social safety net by around Tk 100 billion in the upcoming fiscal for giving the poor people a comfortable living.
About the implementation of mega projects, Muslim Chowdhury said the government will allocate funds for the mega projects according to the demand of the projects. “We want to implement the mega projects within the scheduled time for the benefits of the economy,” he added.
According to the Finance Ministry, seven large projects are likely to get Tk 296.75 billion in the upcoming budget for financial year 2018-19 (FY19) for accelerating the implementation process of these ‘fast-track’ projects.
Muslim Chowdhury said the government has no decision to reduce the interest rate on savings certificates in the next budget, according to BSS.
This year, he said, the government will keep allocation for the Rohingyas in the next budget as all the required financing to feed them will not come from international sources.
“We will keep allocation for the Rohingyas as per the demand from the concerned ministries. Several international donor agencies will also finance for them,” he added.
The finance secretary said the government is providing special focus on rural areas through developing the infrastructures so that the areas can play a vital role to develop the country.
According to the Finance Ministry, the Local Government Division is likely to get Tk 295 billion in the upcoming budget to ensure root level development across the country.