The government's target of reducing inflation to 6.5% and achieving 6.75% gross domestic product (GDP) growth as set in the proposed national budget for the FY2024-25 is blatantly unrealistic.

South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) came up with the observation during a post-budget press conference held at BRAC centre in Mohakhalia area of Dhaka on Saturday (June 8).

With a visionary target to control inflation, Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali unveiled a proposed national budget of Tk7.97 lakh crore for the fiscal year 2024-25 on Thursday.

In the proposed national budget, the finance minister set a target of reducing inflation to 6.5%, despite it averaging more than 9% over the past two years.

Besides, achieving 6.75% gross domestic product (GDP) growth has been fixed in the proposed budget which is much higher than the current estimate of 5.8% for the current fiscal year.

“Controlling inflation will be the biggest challenge for the government,” Sayema Haque Bidisha, research director of SANEM, said.

BDST: 1756 HRS, JUN 08, 2024
MN/SMS