Resource mobilisation will be biggest challenge for budget 

Overall, for a political government, I think the FY2026-27 budget has been appropriate. In terms of the mandate and the promises they made, I think the budget is right.

However, capacity is a major challenge. In fact, the biggest issue in the budget is resource mobilisation. Where will I get the resources from? First, from domestic resources, and then from foreign loans, grants, and so on.

But the size of the budget that has been presented is large. Usually, the fiscal policy of a political government is expansionary because they have many commitments. Compared to that, collecting resources will be difficult. The country's tax and non-tax revenue are not very high — not even close. The NBR will have to collect more than Tk6 lakh crore. That is a very big challenge.

So, unless the current system is somewhat reformed and changed, and unless some institutional reforms are made, this will become a huge challenge. Of course, there is no harm in trying. They have said they are taking steps, and perhaps they will be somewhat successful. But I do not think complete success will come.

That is why budget implementation will also not be fully achieved. The main challenge in implementation is that when we make promises, they should not become like a shopping list — saying we will do many things and making many commitments. Instead, if they focus on some priority areas such as employment, inflation control, improvement in education and health, and infrastructure, that would be better.

There will of course be many other smaller issues, but without focusing too much on those, the main areas should be achieved — creating income opportunities for people, reducing income inequality, promoting growth, and energising business. More focus should be given to these areas.

So, in terms of capacity, especially institutional capacity, there are some limitations. The government has to depend on the bureaucracy, government institutions, and state-owned enterprises. Of course, there is the public sector. But among those who will implement and monitor, there are some capacity issues.

And capacity is not only a technical issue. Capacity also includes sincerity, monitoring, accountability, and transparency. If I simply give an instruction or an order and assume it has been done, that will not work. This is something we often see in government projects and many government activities.

Broadly speaking, I would say that because of our efforts over the last one and a half years, the country has reached a stage of relief. We had almost gone to the edge of a cliff, especially economically. If you look at the banking sector, foreign exchange reserves, foreign remittances, and trade and commerce, the situation was very difficult. Also, because of corruption, the money that had been spent was not spent properly. So the economy had gone through a very difficult path.

The political side was also difficult. There were many kinds of shocks and challenges there. But now a political government has come. They are properly elected, and they have responsibility and accountability.

Economic stabilisation has also returned overall. For example, foreign reserves are now much better than before. The foreign exchange market is stable. The financial account is positive. The current account balance is somewhat negative, but the balance of payments situation is good.

A major sense of hope has also been created among businesspeople. Their confidence is returning. The banking sector still has challenges, but the problems in the banking sector have been identified, and actions have been taken regarding them.

However, I would say that some quick economic actions need to be taken immediately. If three months pass in the banking sector and there is still a lot of discussion about who will be chairman and who will be director, then these things only cause delay.

Salehuddin Ahmed spoke to TBS' Executive Editor Shakhawat Liton.