Staff Correspondent, Dhaka: Maintaining economic stability, ensuring disciplines in financial sectors and continuing zero tolerance policy against corruption are among the main priorities in the budget.
Finance minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali said this while unveiling the national budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 in the parliament on Thursday.
The finance minister said the priorities Awami League made in the election manifesto last year have been emphasized in the proposed budget.
He said a total of 11 issues were given special emphasis in Awami League’s election manifesto this year.
“All these priorities will be the main basis of channeling of resources in the budget of this year,” he added.
Other than the three issues, emphasis will be laid on the following activities to transform Bangladesh into a developed, prosperous and smart country by 2041.
The issues are: Ensuring an educational environment conducive to science education, scientific research and innovation, providing necessary support to agriculture sector and ensuring food security, improving and expanding basic health services, ensuring provision of training for the youth and self-employment and using technology at all levels including digitizing all possible services.
More priorities are: Developing physical infrastructure, optimising utilization of marine resources, eliminating extreme poverty by 2031 and lowering general poverty rate to 3 per cent by 2041, ensuring conducive environment for setting up industries and investment, taking steps to combat the effects of climate change, developing public welfare oriented, accountable, efficient and smart administration.
Earlier in his speech, the finance minister mentioned the 11 issues that were given special emphasis in AL’s election manifesto this year, which include making every effort to keep prices within the reach of all; ensuring vocational education and employment for youth and building modern technology-driven smart Bangladesh.
He also mentioned comprehensive agricultural system targeting profitable agriculture; increasing investment in mechanization and processing; expanding industries by leveraging visible infrastructure and increasing investment.
Increasing efficiency and capacity in financial sectors including banking sectors; making health care facilities affordable to low-income people; inclusion of all in the universal pension system; ensuring the effectiveness and accountability of law enforcement agencies; eradicating all forms of communalism, terrorism and extremism; and promoting the protection and practice of democratic systems at all levels, finance minister Mahmood Ali added.
