Bangladesh further tightened austerity measures

The government of Bangladesh has further tightened the austerity measures in the country considering the global economic situation. A circular of the finance division of the government of Bangladesh has stopped purchases of vehicles including ships and aircraft by all government and semi-govt, autonomous, statutory, state-owned companies, and financial institutions. The circular announced several other measures to stop or reduce expenditure over the operational and development budget for the current financial year 2023.
These organizations will also be allowed to spend only 50 percent of their allocations on entertainment expenditure as well as other expenditures on stationery items, computers, and miscellaneous equipment and furniture. Moreover, all the expenses over training inside the country will also be restricted to half of the allocation. The government of Bangladesh has taken several austerity measures in the wake of the global economic situation following the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.​ According to two separate circulars of the Finance Division, the spending trimming will not only be applicable for public offices but also for semi-governmental offices, autonomous bodies, state-owned enterprises, statutory entities, state-owned companies and financial institutions. The money flow to development works has also been readjusted, according to the circulars, as projects in this year's Annual Development Programme (ADP) have been categorised.