B Mirror Desk:  The Planning Commission’s expanded meeting has determined the Annual Development Program (ADP) size for the fiscal year 2025-26 to be Tk 2.30 trillion, while the revised ADP for the current fiscal year stands at Tk 2.16 trillion. Consistent with previous years, 70 percent of the development budget is allocated to five key sectors, with the transport and communication sectors receiving a 25 percent share.

The finalization of the development budget will occur during the NEC meeting today, May 18, in the Planning Commission’s conference room, with the draft ADP awaiting approval from the interim government’s chief advisor, Dr. Muhammad Yunus. Sources indicate that Tk 35,000 crore has been cut from the original ADP for the current fiscal year, bringing it down to Tk 2.30 trillion to minimize unnecessary expenditures.

This includes Tk 1.44 trillion from government resources and Tk 86,000 crore from foreign loans. As in previous allocations, the transport and communication sectors are prioritized, receiving 25.64 percent or Tk 58,973 crore of the total budget. The power and energy sector follows with a 14.08 percent allocation of Tk 32,392 crore, while the education sector is allocated 12.42 percent or Tk 28,557 crore. The housing and community facilities sector receives 9.90 percent or Tk 22,776 crore, and the health sector is allocated 7.89 percent or Tk 18,148 crore.

The updated Annual Development Program (ADP) indicates that in the current fiscal year, different ministries and departments have requested a total of 254,000 crores. Initially, the government’s funding for the original ADP was set at Tk 1.65 trillion, with a foreign debt target of Tk 1 trillion. However, for the upcoming fiscal year, the government’s funding for the development program has been decreased to Tk 1.44 trillion, and the foreign debt target has been significantly lowered by Tk 14 trillion to Tk 86 trillion.