Dhaka: Finance Minister AMA Muhith will begin his pre-budget meetings for the next fiscal year (2016-17) on Thursday sitting with the members of Policy Research Institute (PRI), Economic Research Group (ERG), Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) and the members of Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA).

The season's first pre-budget meeting of the Finance Minister will be held at the NEC conference room in the city's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area at 3:30 pm, said an official of the Finance Division on Wednesday.

This time, the official said, the Finance Minister is scheduled to hold 11 pre-budget meetings to get inputs from different stakeholders before finalising the budget for the next fiscal year.

He said the veteran minister would hold his 2nd pre-budget meeting with the NGO leaders on March 6 while the 3rd one with the country's renowned economists and professionals on March 20 and the 4th on Krishi Budget, Krishaker Budget of Channel i on March 27 in Rangpur.

Muhith will hold the 5th pre-budget meeting with the Senior Secretaries and Secretaries of the Ministries and Divisions on March 30, the 6th one with the Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) on April 3 and the 7th one with the chairmen and members of four parliamentary standing committees -- Finance, Planning, Public Accounts and Public Undertakings -- on April 7.

He will hold his 8th and 9th pre-budget meetings with the chairmen of various parliamentary standing committees on April 10 and April 28 respectively before meeting the Senior Secretaries and Secretaries again on May 4.

The Finance Minister is expected to wrap up his pre-budget meetings on May 7 sitting with the editors and journalists of different print and electronic media.