Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) held the decline in government's expenditure and the fall in export responsible for the major concerns of country's economy.

The CPD, a civil society think tank, came up with the observations while presenting an assessment report titled 'State on the Bangladesh Economy in FY2020-21 (First Reading)' on Monday, reports UNB.

The virtual function was addressed, among others, by CPD executive director Fahmida Khatun, distinguished fellow Mustafizur Rahman, and research director Golam Moazzem while senior research fellow Tawfiqur Islam Khan presented the keynote paper.

The CPD said public expenditure fell by a large amount during the first four months of FY2021 compared to the pre-COVID-19 situation. It found a substantial fall in development expenditure, with a 35.1 per cent decline in annual development programme (ADP) expenditure compared to the corresponding period of FY2020.

Operational expenditure was also lower, the CPD said, adding, "This happens due to the needs triggered by pandemic." With a view to saving about Tk 33,661 crore from the ADP in FY2021, the Finance Division has allowed ministries and agencies to spend only 75 per cent of the fund allocated by the government for ADP in FY2021, the CPD mentioned.