Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said International Monetary Fund (IMF) does not provide loans to any "orphan" county that can't repay.

"IMF grants loans only to countries that have the capacity to repay it. Bangladesh's economy isn't an "orphan" economy. If anyone (country) becomes an orphan, IMF does not provide loans to them. We have taken loans from IMF as Bangladesh has the capacity to repay it," she said.

The premier made this remark replying to a question regarding the IMF loan at a press conference arranged at her official residence Gono Bhaban in the capital on the outcome of her recent three-nation visit to Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom from April 25 to May 08, 2023.

Her comments came after Debapriya Bhattacharya, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), earlier today said the budget of Bangladesh has become "an orphan" and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is now the foster father of it.

Asked, the PM said the government has plans to increase salaries of government employees in line with the inflation.

She said her government has no plans for allocating dearness allowance.