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“This will require strong institutions that have the capacity to implement the budget efficiently and deliver tangible outcomes,” she said, adding that the budget represents the new government’s first major opportunity to demonstrate its ability to drive economic recovery through sustained structural reforms.

In the keynote paper, CPD laid out eight key observations on the proposed budget. The think tank said macroeconomic projections for FY2026-27 appear optimistic and warned that the proposed fiscal framework is unlikely to hold.

While public expenditure has been reprioritised towards human capital sectors, CPD noted that the Annual Development Programme, though ambitious, faces concerns over effective implementation.

The think tank also said fiscal measures reflect a degree of predictability but raise equity concerns, and flagged the absence of a comprehensive roadmap to support Bangladesh’s LDC graduation.

It further observed that the social sectors prioritised in the budget lack adequate implementation capacity, and that allocations meant to drive employment generation point to a deeper structural challenge.

Businessmen, ministers and economists participated in the discussion moderated by CPD Distinguished Fellow Mustafizur Rahman.

Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman of the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), called on the government to formulate a roadmap to implement the proposed budget, as there are concerns about its capacity for implementation.

The government should also publish a three-month progress report on budget implementation so that people can know its real status, he said.

Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, chairman of the Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID), said the proposed budget stands at 13 percent of GDP, while 23 percent of GDP would be required to achieve the government’s targeted outcomes.

He said the Family Card programme could reduce the poverty rate by 7 percentage points if properly implemented.

To reach the government’s target of a $1 trillion economy by 2034, Razzaque said GDP growth would need to reach 8 percent, and the investment-to-GDP ratio, combining public and private investment, would need to rise to 40 percent from the current 28 percent.

He said the government should act quickly to achieve this while also controlling high inflation, noting that the revenue target is ambitious even as official development assistance continues to decline.

Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez, president of the Bangladesh Chamber of Industries, said the private sector continues to face significant difficulties due to inadequate energy supply and high bank interest rates, despite various measures taken to address them.

Montu Ghosh, president of the Bangladesh Garment Workers Trade Union Centre, said budget implementation will be difficult given existing capacity constraints, and that the lives of workers are unlikely to change significantly as their concerns have not been given adequate importance in the proposal.

He noted that workers and union leaders have long demanded a rationing system for garment workers, which has yet to be introduced.

He also criticised the government’s bank borrowing plans, warning that they could affect credit flow to the private sector.