Dhaka, Dec. 6 -- A slowdown in public works following the regime-changing political upheavals has narrowed Bangladesh's budget deficit as a blessing in disguise as the interim government couldn't utilise much of the budgetary outlay, official statistics show.

The budget deficit contracted to 3.30 per cent of the GDP in the last fiscal year (FY 2024-25) by official count, which mitigated government borrowing pressures but, economists say, the pared-down spending stymies economic expansion and job creation.

The previous government, which crafted the budget before its fall, had projected a deficit of 4.6 per cent to GDP in the Tk 7.88-trillion expenditure target (excepting loans, advances and net outlay of food account) in the original nat...