DHAKA, 03 June 2021, (TON): AHM Mustafa Kamal, Finance Minister of Bangladesh is set to place a Tk 603,681-crore national budget for 2021-22 fiscal year before parliament.

A prolonged pandemic has certainly taken a huge toll on businesses and the economy, a reality that is all too evident and as the Covid-19 pandemic situation is far from easing, the government faces a formidable challenge today in getting the economy back on a recovery trail.

As Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal places a Tk 603,681-crore proposed national budget for the 2021-22 financial year in parliament on Thursday afternoon, he must be knowing very well that a budget is much more than just a figure.

Figure-wise the proposed amount is Tk 35,681 crore more than what has been the passing fiscal’s budget volume. But the businessman-turned finance minister must be crossing fingers on how to finance this budget, with the government’s revenue collection apparatus going through a tough time in meeting higher revenue targets during the relentless pandemic.

The government’s proposed budget outlay will have a sizeable chunk earmarked for the health and education sectors and understandably so, given the current pandemic realities. If there is one lesson the pandemic has taught us the hard way, it is that investment in the health sector is worth more than anything else.