Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed is set to present the national budget for the 2025–26 fiscal year, totaling BDT 7.90 trillion.
This will be his first time delivering a national budget, making him the 14th individual in the country`s history to do so. With this, Bangladesh will mark its 54th national budget since independence.
Interestingly, while budget sizes have traditionally increased year after year, this year’s proposal breaks the trend.
The upcoming budget is BDT 70 billion less than the current fiscal year`s BDT 7.97 trillion, making it the second-largest budget ever presented in Bangladesh.
Among those who have delivered national budgets, two individuals—Abul Maal Abdul Muhith and M. Saifur Rahman—hold the distinction of presenting the most, with 12 budgets each during their respective tenures.
The country’s inaugural budget was presented by Tajuddin Ahmad for the 1972–73 fiscal year, amounting to BDT 719 crore. He followed this with budgets of BDT 820 crore for 1973–74 and BDT 995 crore for 1974–75.
In 1975–76, Dr. Azizur Rahman introduced a BDT 1,549 crore budget. President Ziaur Rahman subsequently delivered three consecutive budgets—BDT 1,908 crore, BDT 2,097 crore, and BDT 2,498 crore for 1976–79. Dr. M. N. Huda presented a budget of BDT 3,317 crore for 1979–80.
During the 1980s, M. Sayeduzzaman presented four budgets, ranging from BDT 6,933 crore in 1984–85 to BDT 10,300 crore in 1987–88. Maj. Gen. M. A. Munim handled the budgets in 1988–89 and 1990–91, worth BDT 11,060 crore and BDT 13,989 crore respectively. Meanwhile, Dr. Wahidul Haque delivered the 1989–90 budget, totaling BDT 13,462 crore.
M. Saifur Rahman first presented the budget for 1980–81, amounting to BDT 4,227 crore. Over multiple terms, he delivered budgets for 12 fiscal years, culminating in the 2006–07 budget of BDT 69,740 crore. His other notable budgets include BDT 24,707 crore in 1995–96, and BDT 57,248 crore in 2004–05.
Shah A.M.S. Kibria served during the late 1990s and early 2000s, with his budgets growing from BDT 25,258 crore in 1996–97 to BDT 44,765 crore in 2001–02.
Dr. A.B. Mirza Azizul Islam, during the caretaker government period, presented budgets of BDT 87,137 crore and BDT 99,962 crore for the 2007–08 and 2008–09 fiscal years respectively.
The late Abul Maal Abdul Muhith first took on the budgetary role in 1982–83, with a BDT 4,854 crore budget. Returning in 2009–10, he steered Bangladesh’s financial planning for 10 consecutive years under the Awami League government. His final budget in 2018–19 stood at BDT 464,000 crore. During his tenure, the budget consistently grew, from BDT 113,819 crore in 2009–10 to nearly half a trillion by 2018–19.
A.H.M. Mustafa Kamal presented five budgets from 2019 to 2024, beginning with BDT 523,190 crore in 2019–20 and rising to BDT 761,785 crore in 2023–24. His term marked steady growth in budget size despite various global and domestic economic challenges.
Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali, the last finance minister under the Awami League before its fall from power, presented Bangladesh’s largest-ever budget: BDT 797,000 crore for the 2024–25 fiscal year. He later fled the country, making headlines not only for the scale of the budget but also for his unexpected exit.
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