Bangladesh should engage youths more in making and the implementation processes of the national budget to drive macroeconomic advancement in an inclusive manner, a former governor of the central bank said on Tuesday.

“There is no alternative to building a knowledge-based society to realise Bangladesh’s potential. We should engage more youths in the budget process for inclusive development,” Prof Emeritus Atiur Rahman of Dhaka University told a discussion in Dhaka.

Unnayan Shamannay organised the dialogue session with youths at its head office in the capital as part of Amar Sangsad programme in association with Bank Asia.

Shafiuzzaman, additional managing director of Bank Asia, and Abdullah Nadvi, research director of Unnayan Shamannay, were also present as discussants.

Addressing the programme, Dr Atiur further pointed out that the budget for FY2024-25 has been moved to parliament amid pressure on macroeconomic indicators.

“Curbing inflation along with maintaining macroeconomic stability is the top priority for this budget. This goal must be attained even at the cost of sacrificing GDP [gross domestic product] growth if necessary.”

The economist has said the budget-makers have opted for a somewhat contractionary fiscal policy considering the challenges facing the economy.

He acknowledged that the contractionary fiscal move is most likely to leave some effects on sectors like education, health, and social security. Therefore, he added, an unprecedented level of commitment will be required to implement the proposed budget.

Shafiuzzaman inferred that private-sector credit growth is likely to suffer due to the increasing demand for public-sector credit from the banking sector.

“Through ensuring the right set of reforms in the revenue mobilisation processes, the government may reduce its dependence on domestic banks,” he said.