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Cover Story

A Budget in Disguise

This year the people of Bangladesh were promised a pro-poor budget, one that would finally serve the masses; with immense optimism the nation tuned in on June 7, to listen to Finance Advisor Mirza Azizul Islam deliver his budget speech. It was unspectacular to say the least with only its daunting size gathering attention. After promising so much, the budget delivered precious little as the average citizen was left out. It turned out to be anything but pro-poor and in the process left the public wondering what the real agenda was. Spiralling price hikes were mentioned if not completely dealt with, major industries were left out in the cold.

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