By Waliur Rahman BBC News, Dhaka

Farming is the mainstay of the Bangladesh economy

Effective from July, it contains some populist measures like doubling agricultural subsidies and soft loans.

Mr Rahman proposed spending a little over $10bn for government administration and to meet "development expenditures".

But the opposition parties rejected the budget as over-ambitious, predicting it would cost the government too much.

Tax exemptions

Members of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party cheered Mr Rahman as he presented the budget in parliament.

He proposed to double agricultural subsidies to the equivalent of about $200m.

Fifty-four percent of the revenue and development budget will be spent to finance direct and indirect poverty reduction programmes Saifur Rahman

Mr Rahman announced allowances for the mentally disabled, more student grants and help for long-term unemployed farmers.

He also declared a series of tax exemptions for the leather and textile industries.

He said the main thrust of the new budget was to reduce poverty, create jobs and enhance growth by improving education and healthcare.

The minister said the economy would achieve six percent growth next year if all external and domestic factors remained favourable.

Presenting his 11th budget as the country's finance minister, Mr Rahman said the readymade garment sector was not facing "an adverse situation" despite the phase-out of the textile quotas, on which Bangladesh depended heavily.

'Unrealistic'

He said an earlier decision to abolish the export subsidy given to the industry has been cancelled to boost the textile sector, which would also benefit from a $40m scheme to offset the end of quotas.

The main opposition Awami League boycotted the budget presentation, and said the allocations proposed under the budget were unrealistic.

Party spokesman Abul Mal Abdul Muhith doubted whether the government has the means to reach real farmers with its subsidy scheme.

Analysts say the minister faced a delicate balancing act between appeasing the voters and the country's aid donors.

The budget is expected to be passed by the parliament on 30 June.