Foreign assistance utilisation by the government has gone up by 1.57 per cent year-on-year during the first two months of the current fiscal year, thanks to improvements in the use of project aid. 

In the two months, overall implementation of the annual development programme (ADP) marked a slight rise of 3.83 per cent. It was 3.82 per cent last fiscal year.

However, this is lower than the 3.89 per cent achieved in fiscal year 2020-21, when the coronavirus pandemic first emerged.

The ADP implementing agencies were able to spend Tk 3,545 crore of foreign assistance during the first two months whereas it was Tk 2,009 crore in fiscal year 2021-22.

According to data from the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED), the government managed to spend about Tk 9,812 crore from its ADP budget in July and August of the current fiscal year.

It was able to utilise Tk 8,053 crore in the same period a year ago.

In August, the government was able to spend Tk 7,356.75 crore, which is 2.87 per cent of the total ADP allocation of Tk 260,003 crore. It was able to spend Tk 6,360 crore during the same month last fiscal year.

The cabinet division spent the highest or 23.86 per cent of its allocation. Posts and Telecommunications Division came second (17.44 per cent) and the Ministry of Labour and Employment third (15.18 per cent).

The other top implementing entities are the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs (13.12 per cent), power division (10.72 per cent), IMED (10.32 per cent), energy and mineral resources division (9.94 per cent), information and communication technology (9.42 per cent), railway ministry (7.33 per cent), and election commission secretariat 4.64 per cent.

The ministries of science and technology, shipping, industries, religious affairs, defence, public administration and information and broadcasting; divisions of technical and madrasah education, financial institution and internal resources division; Prime Minister's Office, public service commission and anti-corruption commission were able to spend less than one per cent of the allocation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and public security division could not utilise any of the respective allocations.