Development spending rose 2.66 per cent to a five-month high in November although the overall implementation is yet to receive a significant boost because of the slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic, official data showed yesterday.

According to the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division, the government managed to spend Tk 11,019 crore last month under the annual development programme (ADP), up from Tk 10,734 crore in the corresponding month last year.

November's spending was the highest since July.

The ADP outlay, however, fell in the first five months of the fiscal year: It was Tk 38,472 crore from July to November, down 7.04 per cent from Tk 41,386 crore year-on-year.  

The rate of implementation was 17.93 per cent during the five-month period, the slowest pace at least in the last five years.

The government has set aside Tk 214,611 crore to carry out development activities in 2020-21.

It spent Tk 25,737 crore from its own coffer from July to November, down 12 per cent from Tk 29,254 crore.

The use of the foreign aid budget stood at Tk 11,682 crore, which was Tk 11,087 crore in the same period last fiscal year.

The slowdown in the ADP implementation came despite the government's softening of stance on the fund going to low-priority projects.

In July, the finance ministry had restricted the disbursement of funds for the low-priority projects to free up funds for the productive sectors amid widening revenue shortfall caused by the devastating impacts of the pandemic.

Recently, the finance ministry has made more funds available, giving in to pressures from line ministries and also for improvements in revenue collection.

Revenue collection has not picked up much due to the slowdown in economic activities, both at home and abroad, because of the pandemic. 

The National Board of Revenue earned Tk 87,092 crore in the first five months of the fiscal year, which is 3.19 per cent higher from the same period last fiscal year, data from the NBR showed.

The revenue administration has managed to reach 77.1 per cent of the revenue generation target during the period.

Collection from duties rose 6.24 per cent to Tk 27,713 crore, and receipts from income tax went up by 4.22 per cent to Tk 25,933 crore.

The collection from value-added tax, the biggest source of revenue for the country, was up only 0.03 per cent at Tk 33,445 crore, reflecting the economic slowdown.