Proposed budget may generate high employment: lawmakers
There was little chance for lawmakers to take part in the budget, says another
The proposed budget for 2021-22 fiscal year will help promote Bangladesh's brand and create employment through industrialisation.
Lawmakers made this observation on Monday, taking part in a general discussion for the fifth consecutive day, about the newly proposed budget in the National Parliament.
They also said the proposed budget gives preference to the lives and livelihoods of people and will generate a lot of employment, cutting poverty and paving the way to a digital economy in the country by 2041.
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"The proposed budget will help generate employment for people through public-private partnerships in the ICT sector," said state minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Zunaid Ahmed Palak.
The proposed tax exemption for automobile manufacturing companies will promote the 'Made in Bangladesh' brands across the globe, he added.
However, unlike Palak, Lawmaker Barrister Shamim Haider Patwary (Gaibandha-1), criticised the proposed budget terming it "an undemocratic one."
There was little chance for lawmakers to take part in the budget, he alleged.
He also criticized the revenue earning target of the proposed budget, saying, "Each year we are experiencing revenue deficits rather than meeting target." He also condemned the low budget for the law ministry.
Criticising the education budget allotment that hardly addresses private education, he said, "The government has proposed Tk71, 951 crore for the education sector, but of this only Tk75 crore is allotted for private education institutions."
The government has even imposed a 15% tax on private universities, he added.
Beside this, many other lawmakers took part in the budget discussion drawing attention to different issues and proposed several solutions. They stressed strengthening the health sector and controlling malpractice there.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on 3 June unveiled a Tk6,03,681 crore national budget in Parliament for fiscal year 2021-22.
Kamal has set a GDP growth target of 7.2%, challenging the economic fallout of the pandemic.
