Online Desk  :   Zahid Hussain, a member of the White Paper Committee and former Lead Economist at the World Bank stated that the budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 could be approximately 8 trillion (Tk 8 lakh crore). He added that the revenue collection target could be set at Tk 5.42 trillion, and the deficit could be set at a maximum of Tk 2.5 trillion. The growth for the current fiscal year could be around 4%, and it may take another two years to reach 5%.

Economist Zahid Hussain shared these insights at a symposium titled “White Paper and Thereafter: Economic Management, Reforms and National Budget” The White Paper Preparation Committee-2024 organized the event on Saturday at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center in the capital.

Zahid Hossain said, “While the government claims growth has been rising since 2014, we have observed a steady decline in growth since this fiscal year. Instead of addressing inflation, the government has been applying ineffective measures. Since 2022, foreign reserves have been dropping by $1 billion every month. From 2009 to 2019, the government projected a 7% growth, but our analysis showed it was actually 4.2 %.” He further stated that by the end of September last year, the amount of distressed loans in the banking sector was approximately 7.55 trillion, compared to 6.75 trillion at the end of June.