Dhaka, June 2 -- Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed has not made any clear statements on a dearness allowance for government workers, but has proposed an increase in the "special benefits" they are entitled to.

He raised the issue during his speech presenting a Tk 7.9 trillion budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year on Monday.

"In this context, I would like to mention that as no pay scale has been declared after 2015, I propose to increase special benefit for the government employees in the budget of FY2025-26," he said.

The matter of a dearness allowance -- a cost-of-living adjustment that increases the basic pay of government workers in line with inflation -- has been a subject of debate since the interim government took power.

The finance...