Dhaka, June 3 -- In a historic move, the government has proposed a national budget of Tk7.90 lakh crore for the fiscal year 2025-26 - a reduction of 0.9 per cent from the current fiscal year's outlay of Tk7.97 lakh crore. This marks the first time in Bangladesh's history that a national budget has been scaled back compared to the previous year.

"This represents a significant shift from the decades-long tradition of year-on-year budget expansion, which began in FY1972-73," said Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed while presenting the budget via a pre-recorded speech broadcast on Monday.

Describing the move as "somewhat unprecedented," Dr Ahmed explained: "For the first time in our history, we are proposing a smaller budget than the one a...