However, the deficit is 4.6 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), the lowest in a decade. Usually, attempts are made to keep the budget deficit within 5 per cent. The overall deficit for the budget in the outgoing 2023-24 fiscal year was estimated at Tk 2.58 trillion. Mahmood Ali says that he plans to borrow Tk 1.27 trillion from abroad and about Tk 1.61 trillion from domestic sources. Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, former governor of Bangladesh Bank, said: “Running a deficit budget is unsustainable.
