Govt pledges strong startup push amid global economic pressures

The Jatiya Sangsad on Tuesday witnessed several policy announcements and economic assessments, highlighting the government’s commitment to domestic growth despite severe global economic headwinds.
Presided over by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, the session covered key issues including youth employment, external subsidy pressures, tobacco taxation, and progress in telecommunications and digital infrastructure.
In a major statement ahead of the upcoming national budget, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said the government remains committed to improving the living standards of low- and middle-income groups.
To support this objective, he announced a proposed allocation of Tk400 crore in the fiscal year 2026–27 budget for the startup sector, women entrepreneurs, and youth-led enterprise development.
Responding to a query from Dhaka-4 MP Syed Zainul Abedin, the minister said Tk200 crore had already been allocated to the Startup Fund in the revised budget for the current fiscal year 2025–26. “Special directives will be issued to banks and relevant departments to ensure that young and small entrepreneurs can access financial support and technical training more easily,” he said. He outlined three key initiatives aimed at strengthening micro-level human development, including plans to gradually expand the number of beneficiaries and increase allowance amounts under social safety net programmes. Ongoing welfare schemes such as family cards, farmer cards, old-age allowances, widow and deserted women allowances, and disability allowances will also be expanded to support vulnerable groups.
Easy-term youth loan programmes are being implemented through the Ministry of Youth and Sports and Karmasangsthan Bank. In addition, Startup Bangladesh Limited under the ICT Division is facilitating low-interest financing for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the country.
Responding to a starred question from Dhaka-18 MP SM Jahangir Hossain on economic losses linked to the recent Middle East crisis involving Iran, the finance minister said Bangladesh is facing an additional subsidy burden of around Tk42,600 crore in the current fiscal year 2025–26 due to instability in the global energy market.
He said the pressure is being felt across four key essential sectors, though did not elaborate further in the session. The finance minister also addressed questions on bidi pricing and taxation, confirming that rates will remain unchanged in the upcoming national budget.
Responding to a query from Woman MP Rasheda Begum Hira, he said the government has opted for fiscal continuity in the sector, assuring that existing tax structures will be maintained.
The session also highlighted Bangladesh’s progress in the digital sector. Posts, Telecommunications and ICT Minister Fakir Mahbub Anam provided data showing that the total number of registered mobile SIM cards across the country’s four telecom operators has reached 32.82 crore.
He also said work is underway to revise a development project proposal under the second phase of the school digital lab initiative, under which computer labs will be established in 1,000 educational institutions nationwide in the next fiscal year.
Responding to concerns raised by Noakhali-6 MP Abdul Hannan Masud over shortages of specialised teachers in school digital labs, the minister acknowledged the issue and said the government is working to address manpower gaps to ensure effective use of digital infrastructure in rural education.