Budget should focus on supporting needy families: Prof MM Azad

The proposed budget of 2021-2022 fiscal year, should focus on supporting poverty-stricken families of the country financially, suggested Prof MM Azad, Economy Department of Dhaka University on Thursday.

The underprivileged families should get financial support for a certain period of time while measures should be taken to generate employment for them, he said in his instant reaction to proposed budget.

Earlier, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal unveiled the budget of 2021-22 FY at the National Parliament on Thursday.

The government should select the extreme poor families initially as 40 percent of the population in the country are still poor in the country, he said, adding that "Government have to distribute the money in cash or through mobile banking directly to the beneficiaries to curb corruption."

Each families should get at least Tk10,000 for ensuring minimum nutritious food, prof Azad said, adding that prices of the daily essentials should be controlled to addressed the gap between demand and supply.

Although the finance minister has proposed 5.5 percent price inflation, but it won't be practical if government follows the free-market economy, MM Azad said.

"The government have to control the market and break the syndicate and monopoly.", he insisted.

Prof MM Azad, Economy Department of Dhaka University