In the proposed budget for the upcoming 2024-25 financial year, the government has proposed an allocation of Tk 779 crore for the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.
Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali placed the proposed Tk 7,97,000 crore budget for FY25 in parliament on Thursday.
In FY2023-24, the cultural affairs ministry was allocated Tk 699 crore but it was later revised and increased to Tk 764 crore.
The proposed sectoral allocation for FY25 is Tk 15 crore more than the FY24 revised allocation.
In his budget speech, the finance minister said that the government is working relentlessly to uphold the tradition of non-communal democratic cultural identity along with the creative development and expansion of language, literature, art, music, drama and more.
He said, “To continue such efforts, we are providing funds for the development of indigenous culture and cultural heritage; research and publication on the spirit of Liberation War and contemporary art and literature; identification, excavation, restoration, preservation and display of archaeological artefacts, and protection of copyright, etc.”
“We are also providing regular funds for celebrating national days with due solemnity. We are organising Book Fairs as a part of the publicity, promotion and preservation of our culture and to expand it to the international arena.
“Side by side, we are also signing cultural treaties with different countries of the world. We are preserving the history, traditions and culture of the ethnic minority groups and nurturing them through ethnic cultural institutions,” the minister said.
The National Library Policy 2023 has been adopted and it will play a leading role in developing knowledge based enlightened society, he added.
Mahmood continued, “To encourage the general public to read regularly, the infrastructural facilities of the public libraries across the country have been put in place. Side by side, other supports like automatic binding, electronic education system for the researchers and students are continuing.
“Moreover, government is continuing its financial support to private libraries, insolvent cultural workers, cultural institutes and secondary educational institutes.”
