Didn’t make the budget with a flurry of words: Finance adviser

Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed has said his government has prepared the budget amid various challenges including high inflation, crisis in the banking sector and poor revenue collection.  

“I didn’t prepare the budget with a flurry of words. We had to work within challenging conditions—high inflation, problems in the banking and energy sectors, and poor revenue collection. Despite all this, the budget had to be formulated. For the first time, the overall size of the budget has not been increased," he added.

The finance adviser made these remarks at the post-budget press conference organised by the finance ministry, held on Tuesday afternoon at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital, the day after presenting the 2025–26 fiscal year budget.

Planning adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud, agriculture and home adviser Lieutenant General (Retd.) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, power and energy adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, commerce adviser Sheikh Bashiruddin, cabinet secretary Sheikh Abdur Rashid, Bangladesh Bank governor Ahsan H Mansur, finance secretary Md Khairuzzaman Mozumder, and the National Board of Revenue (NBR) chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan were present at the event.

Everyone except cabinet secretary Sheikh Abdur Rashid spoke at the event.
Among the attendees were secretaries, additional secretaries, and joint secretaries from various ministries and divisions, as well as managing directors of state-owned banks.

The press conference began at 3 pm, with the finance adviser and planning adviser speaking for the first 30 minutes.

This was followed by a Q&A session that continued until 4:30 pm. Typically, this post-budget press briefing lasts two hours, but today it was concluded after an hour and a half, leaving many journalists without the opportunity to ask questions.

At the outset, the finance adviser stated, “There is no national parliament at the moment, so we have presented the budget before the nation—because we are committed to doing so.”

He continued, “We have taken office at a difficult time. We have not taken power—we have taken responsibility, and that too at a critical juncture in the country’s history.”

The finance adviser added, “Many said the country was in the ICU, teetering on the edge—especially in terms of financial management. If we hadn’t stepped in at that time, things could have gotten much worse. But together, we have managed to bring the country to a relatively stable position.”

He pointed out that resources are limited, while demands are far greater.
"Bringing in resources from outside, tackling global challenges, the state of the capital market, the condition of the banking sector, and law and order—altogether, there was a situation of disorder. We have had to work within this environment," said finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed.

Referring to these challenges, he added, "The reforms we have initiated are ongoing. We will do as much as we can. But we intend to leave a mark. Hopefully, those who come after us will implement the rest."

Addressing journalists, Salehuddin Ahmed said, "Until now, you’ve mostly heard narratives of growth—who actually benefited from that? We’ve tried to move away from that mindset and designed the budget with a focus on improving people’s quality of life, increasing purchasing power, and ensuring that businesses can continue operating."

He further stated, "We are working to increase revenue collection and reform the NBR based on public needs. At first glance, I believe this is a people-friendly and business-friendly budget. Some have said we are following in the footsteps of previous efforts. But the reality is, we cannot suddenly introduce a revolutionary budget or generate a massive surge in revenue. We are moving forward step by step, building on what came before."