JU-DU research allocations underscore institutional apathy

The government must prioritise boosting the competitiveness of all industries if it wants to create more jobs, capture a bigger share of global markets, and strengthen the economy.

The government’s target to provide subsidies and incentives amounting to Tk 125,741 crore in fiscal year 2025-26 is creating high pressure on fund mobilisation amid a challenging macroeconomic situation.

A clear sense of direction and strategy for the education system is lacking, as it has been under past political governments.

Whenever the issue of education surfaces in Bangladesh, policymakers across the political spectrum tend to strike a familiar chord. "Education is our top priority," they harp

This budget failed to redefine the role of the state and mark a departure from inequality and patronage.

The government has proposed a 3.55 percent rise in the budget allocation for agriculture, food, livestock and fisheries in the next fiscal year, setting aside Tk 39,620 crore..But agro-economists say the increase is far from sufficient to ensure the country’s long-term food security..<p

Rights activists warn that this rollback threatens to reverse progress and stall efforts toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The proposed budget for 2025-26 fiscal year is at an opportune moment in Bangladesh's economic and political economy.

Just a day after the interim government proposed the national budget and tax measures for fiscal year 2025-26, leading business chambers expressed significant concern that several measures could potentially impede business growth and affect investment.

If you're planning to import cheap lipstick into Bangladesh anytime soon, think again. The country's interim government, in its latest budget, has quietly declared war on undervalued imports with a series of oddly specific tweaks to customs rules. Among the victims: chocolate bars, lipsticks, eye shadow, and -- wait for it -- inflatable toys.

The positive objectives laid out in the proposed national budget for fiscal 2025–26 are not backed by measures, said the Centre for Policy Dialogue.

The interim government’s proposal to raise the turnover tax from 0.6 percent to 1 percent from the next fiscal year has sparked an outcry among business leaders, who said the measure could deal a fresh blow to firms already struggling to stay afloat.

Bangladesh’s mobile phone manufacturing industry, once hailed as a potential pillar of the country’s digital ambitions, is bracing for a fresh blow after the interim government proposed a hike in value-added tax (VAT) at the production stage in the national budget for fiscal year 2025-26.

LNG import will stand 6.5 million tonnes from 5 million, cut import VAT

Around a dozen banks are currently struggling to repay depositors, eroding public trust

Here’s to hoping that the interim government initiates targeted and critical reforms in FY2026 to improve budget implementation

Despite high hopes, the budget did not introduce any new initiatives aimed at improving migrant workers' welfare, standard of living, healthcare, or security

In a historic move, Bangladesh’s national budget has, for the first time, pledged institutional recognition for women’s unpaid and unacknowledged caregiving and household work.

Although the national parliamentary election is slated to be held within June next year, the allocation for the Election Commission (EC) in the proposed budget for fiscal year 2025-26 has been set at Tk 2,956 crore — significantly lower than what was spent in the previous election year.