DHAKA : Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury today outlined a comprehensive reform agenda aimed at strengthening fiscal sustainability, improving governance, expanding social protection and accelerating private sector-led growth as part of the national budget implementation strategy.

“The FY2026-27 budget was prepared within a short timeframe of about one and a half months amid significant fiscal challenges, including around Tk 50,000 crore in outstanding power sector liabilities inherited by the government,” he said.

The Minister made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a post-budget discussion at a hotel in the city.

Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) organised the dialogue. 

State Minister for Planning Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki attended the event as the special guest while CPD Distinguished Fellow Professor Mustafizur Rahman chaired the programme.

Khosru said that the government is undertaking a major transformation of the country's public finance architecture by reducing dependence on traditional multilateral financing sources and exploring alternative funding mechanisms, including market-based financing and bond issuance.

Noting that the government would have to repay nearly Tk 1.25 lakh crore in debt during the current fiscal year, the minister stressed the importance of prudent debt management and reducing reliance on bank borrowing to create greater space for private-sector investment.

The minister highlighted the Family Card programme as one of the government's flagship social protection initiatives aimed at empowering women and ensuring transparency in welfare distribution.

He said beneficiary selection under the programme has been kept completely free from political influence and is based on a Proxy Means Test (PMT) formula that assesses household assets and living conditions to identify the most vulnerable families.

To prevent misuse and leakages, financial assistance is being transferred directly to the accounts of female heads of households, bypassing intermediaries, he added.

Emphasising the importance of human capital development, the minister reiterated the government's commitment to gradually increasing allocations for education and health sectors to five percent of GDP.

He said a growing share of education spending would be directed toward skill development, vocational education, reskilling and upskilling initiatives to meet international standards and align workforce capabilities with labour market demands.

Highlighting the country's growing digital economy, the minister announced several incentives for startups, freelancers and content creators. 

To improve development project implementation, the minister said a digital monitoring dashboard would become operational from July 1, enabling the Prime Minister's Office and Cabinet Division to track project progress on a daily basis.

The initiative, he said, would help ensure timely completion of projects, reduce implementation delays and minimise cost escalations.

The minister also unveiled a comprehensive deregulation plan aimed at removing administrative and regulatory barriers for businesses and citizens.

 A dedicated website and task force would be established to receive complaints and address regulatory bottlenecks, he added.

On revenue mobilisation, he stressed the need to broaden the tax base by bringing more professionals, including doctors, lawyers and traders, into the tax system.

The objective is to increase the country's tax-to-GDP ratio through greater inclusion rather than coercive measures, he said.

To support export diversification and industrial growth, the minister said duties on industrial raw materials had been reduced while procedures for obtaining duty-free imported inputs through bank guarantees and bonded facilities had been simplified.

The minister called upon entrepreneurs and investors to take advantage of the reforms, saying the government had laid the groundwork through deregulation and institutional reforms, while the private sector must now play a leading role in driving economic expansion.

He expressed optimism that the combined efforts of government and businesses would help Bangladesh achieve its long-term goal of becoming a trillion-dollar economy.

Among the discussants were National University Vice-Chancellor Professor ASM Amanullah, Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) President Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez, Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID) Chairman Dr Mohammad A Razzaque, Garments Workers' Trade Union Centre President Advocate Montu Ghosh, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Mahmud Hasan Khan (Babu), and Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) Executive Chairman Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman.