Development spending edges up to 5% in first quarter amid recovery from political unrest

Implementation of Bangladesh’s Annual Development Programme (ADP) in the first quarter of the 2025–26 fiscal year has risen slightly compared with the same period last year, which was marked by political turmoil. From July to September, spending reached 5.09 percent of the total allocation, up from 4.75 percent during the same quarter of 2024–25, according to data released on Sunday by the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the planning ministry. In September alone, expenditure stood at 2.70 percent of the allocation, compared with 2.18 percent in the corresponding month a year earlier. Between July and September, a total of Tk 121.58 billion was spent, compared with Tk 132.15 billion in the same period last year. Spending on development...