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being Tk 630,000 crore, according to the draft.

The revised budget for this fiscal year has been set Tk 788,000 crore, with the revenue budget increased by Tk 25,000 crore and development budget slashed by Tk 30,000 crore.

This year, Tk 84,114 crore has been allocated for salaries and allowances of government officials and employees, and Tk 35,657 crore for pensioners.

The Ninth Pay Commission has recommended partial implementation of the salary structure this year and the interim government has earmarked Tk 30,000 crore in this fiscal year’s budget for partial implementation of the recommendations.

However, the implementation has been pushed back to the next fiscal year amid narrowing fiscal space due to low revenue mobilisation and rising fuel prices due to the Middle East conflict.

The commission recommended 20 pay scales, with the minimum salary proposed to rise from Tk 8,250 to Tk 20,000 and the maximum from Tk 78,000 to Tk 160,000, as it aimed to ensure that the real wages did not fall below the 2015 level.

Implementing the proposals would require an additional Tk 106,000 crore annually. Currently, the government spends Tk 131,000 crore a year for its 14 lakh employees and 9 lakh pensioners, the statement said.

The Eighth National Pay Scale was implemented in 2015 in two phases: the revised basic salary took effect from July 1, 2015, while revised allowances came into force a year later.

In fiscal 2014-15, the allocation for salaries and allowances stood at Tk 28,709 crore. Following implementation, the allocation rose sharply to Tk 50,775 crore the next year.