SOHEL PARVEZ

The government will include provisions or support for every community in the budget for the fiscal year 2026-27 as part of its pledge to democratise the economy.

“Many groups appeared to have been excluded from past budgets. There were no programmes for them-- no support. We will address every group in this budget,” said Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury.

He made the remarks in an interview with The Daily Star on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank’s annual general meeting in the first week of May in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Khosru, who previously served as commerce minister during the BNP’s last tenure in power more than two decades ago, is now overseeing both the finance and planning ministries.

The current government’s slogan is the democratisation of the economy. If the economy is to be democratised, every group must be included, and the benefits of the economy must reach their homes, he said.

“We are planning the budget with this in mind.”

Khosru said the government had little