Interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal is likely to announce the increased allocation in his budget presentation to parliament's lower house. The plans for rural development may require an additional allocation of funds in a full budget announcement that this government would likely make in July if it is re-elected, the sources said. The Ministry of Rural Development also plans to raise wages for nearly 70 million current beneficiaries of the job programme, said the sources. A parliamentary panel last year asked the ministry to increase the program's wages as they were lower than those paid to farm labourers elsewhere. It intends to increase the monthly benefit from 200 rupees currently and increase the number of beneficiaries from 20 million now, the sources said.

Source: Dhaka Tribune January 31, 2019 13:52 UTC