Staff Reporter:
The government has placed strong emphasis on investment growth, employment generation and environmental protection in the proposed national budget, outlining a set of core principles and a phased economic recovery strategy aimed at rebuilding and accelerating the economy.
The policy directions were highlighted on Friday in a Facebook post by Mahdi Amin, Adviser to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office with the rank of state minister.
According to the post, the government has identified four key policy considerations in determining investment priorities and implementation strategies in the proposed budget.
These include ensuring “Value for Money” through the best possible use of limited resources, assessing “Return on Investment” to evaluate the economic benefits of projects financed with public funds, promoting “Job Creation” through government investment, and maintaining “Environmental Consideration” to protect nature, biodiversity and the environment.
The government also announced a three-stage implementation framework, termed the “3R Strategy”, to revitalise the economy.
Under the first phase, “Recovery and Stabilisation”, the government plans to undertake short-term economic recovery measures over the next year.
The second phase, “Restoration”, aims to steer the economy towards sustainable transition within one to three years during the tenure of the current administration.
The final phase, “Reconstruction for Acceleration”, envisions building a prosperous and accelerated economy within the next five years.
The proposed budget has been formulated based on 10 major priorities, including development for all, quality education and healthcare, universal social protection, investment-led and employment-oriented economic growth, deregulation, financial sector stability, energy security, ICT development, environmental and water resource management, and ensuring transparent, efficient and accountable institutions.
The government also set targets for achieving three major “dividends” through what it described as the democratisation of the economy.
These include the “Demographic Dividend”, “Longevity Dividend” and “Democratic Dividend”, which the government believes will contribute to long-term national prosperity and inclusive growth.
