Thinking Aloud: Volume VIII, Issue 1: June 2021

TThe June 2021 issue of Thinking Aloud focuses on “2021-22 National Budget”. The first page article titled “The expectations from 2021-22 National Budget” narrates the context of this year’s national budget which will be the second budget during the ongoing unprecedented economic and social crises induced by COVID-19. Taking into account the economic and social damages caused by the pandemic over the last year, the article expresses the expectation is that the budget document of FY 2021-22 will acknowledge the current contexts and realities. The article reiterates that the national budget should prioritise the allocation of resources, mechanisms for coordination among the relevant agencies, the necessary roadmap, and their execution. Therefore, the article concludes that the budget should specify the roadmap of the COVID-19 recovery plan and how different stakeholders can play their due roles under the overall leadership of the government. The second and third page of this issue presents the article titled “National Budget 2021-22: Challenges and Priorities”, which delves into the state of the economy of Bangladesh as reflected from various nationwide surveys and curates a specific set of priorities that should be addressed by the FY 2021-22 budget. The article suggests that the forthcoming budget should focus on resolving the unparalleled health and economic threats of the pandemic along with addressing the inherent weaknesses of the existing fiscal structure. The overall philosophy of the upcoming national budget should centre around the goals of poverty and inequality reduction along with generating employment (PIE). Furthermore, the article emphasizes on health, education, social safety net and agriculture as the priority areas to focus on the budget to mitigate the adverse impacts of the pandemic. While explaining the backlogs in social safety nets and other policy measures, the article reiterates the importance of addressing the challenges faced by the “new poor”. The article raises other mid to long term concerns regarding the economy in the pandemic context including the tax structure and overall revenue generation mechanism, along with the systematic monitoring process that can increase the effectiveness of the stimulus packages. The fourth page draws attention to the events that took place in the month of May and the upcoming SANEM International Development Conference (SIDC) 2021 to be held on 17-19 June 2021.