Govt forecasts 6.2pc deficit

The government has forecast a 6.2 per cent deficit for the fiscal year 2021-22 as it will have to expend more to address challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal placed a proposed budget of Tk 6,03,681 crore for FY22 in Parliament on Thursday.

“The overall budget deficit for FY22 will be Tk 2,14,681 crore, which is 6.2 per cent of the GDP,” he said in his budget speech.

This ratio was 6.1 per cent in the last fiscal.

Out of the total deficit, Tk 1,01,228 crore will be financed from external sources. Tk 1,13,453 crore will come from domestic sources, of which Tk 76,452 crore will be taken from the banking sector and Tk 37,001 crore from savings certificates and other non-bank sources, said the minister.