Finance minister AMA Muhith on Monday hoped that the country’s gross domestic product would grow at the rate of 6.5 per cent in the current fiscal year despite sluggish annual development programme and falling foreign aids. He expressed his optimism on the country’s economic growth while presenting the half-yearly budget review report in parliament. The implementation of budget in July-December 2013 was marked by falling foreign aids, lower than expected revenue generation and slow progress rate of the ADP implementation.
The net foreign aid inflow dropped at Tk 613 crore in the first six months of the fiscal year, compared to Tk 1,702 crore during the same period in last fiscal year.
The generation of revenue grew only at 12.2 per cent to achieve 38.6 per cent of total revenue target. The ADP implementation stood at 27 per cent, three per cent lower than the rate achieved during the same period in last fiscal year.
The inflow of remittance and private sector credit growth also marked a slow down in the first half of the fiscal year.
Muhith had projected 7.2 per cent GDP growth while announcing the national budget in last June.
He now says it would not be possible to achieve the original growth target because of destructive activities by opposition political parties between October and December.
Despite general strikes and blockades, the country’s economy would grow at a rate of 6.5 per cent.
Falling inflation, good growth in export and import, and signs of improvement in other areas in the next six months were referred by Muhith which would ensure more than six per cent growth.
Multilateral donor agencies including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank have already projected less than 6 per cent growth in the current fiscal year.
Bangladesh has been maintaining more than six per cent growth in the last four fiscal years.
-With New Age input
