A New Beginning of Our Economy by Atiur Rahman

8/13/2019 A New Beginning of Our Economy by Atiur Rahman

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ATIUR RAHMANFOURDECADES FBANGLADESHA NEWBEGINNINGcF oURECCNOvY

TranslatedromBengaliby iaulKarim

Bangladeshank


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FOREWORDlam very honoured o be offered he opportunity o give he 2013LiberationWarMuseum ecture. edicatedo all reedom ovingpeople,Liberation War Museum commemoratesour heroic struagle forindependence uring 1971,which resultedn the establishment f thesovereign ation f Bangladesh.hemuseumsa veritablereasure-troveof documents, hotographs,rt icles nd mementos f the mostgloriousmoment n our history.

We are now into the forty-second earof our independence ndmaking significant strides in socio-economicdevelopment. But,Bangladesh asoncewrittenoff as a 'hopeless'ountrywith no or zeropotential for development. Our performance in most of themacroeconomicndicators nd in almostall the socialdeveloomentindicatorsn the past our decades asbeen audedby all.Manyearliercritics avenow revisedheirown projections nd consider angladeshto be a rolemodel or he emerging conomies. angladeshasachievedthis by its strategic olicy ocuson modernizing griculture,mprovingremittance nd opting for readymade arments ndustries. he servicesector oo hasgot adequate olicyattention. chose o speakon fourdecades f Bangladeshconomy o highlight he achievements e havemadedespite uge challenges.thought his heme would be befittingfor heoccasion.also ake hisopportunity o pay ributes o all reedomseekers ho sacrificedheir ives oran ndependent angladesh.

I am pleasedo acknowledgehe contribution f Md.NazimUddin orcollecting ecessarynformationor he ecture. he ecture asoriginallygiven n Bengali. iaulKarimdeserves pecialhanks or translatinghelecture nto Englishn a manner hat captureshe styleand spiritof theoriginalBengali..am indeedgrateful o him. am indebted o A.F.M.Asaduzzamanor his passionate nvolvement n every step of thispublication. am also grateful o my colleagues t the Governor'sSecretariatnd Department f Communications Publicationsor theirsupportand dedicationwithout hem this publicationwould not haveseen he ightof day.A//eY{sd(({aF'/ ' )" \ \(At iurRahman)GovernorBangladeshan k

Dhaka,une,01


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INTRODUCTION'16 December1971.Bangradeshmergedon the worrd mao as anindependent nd sovereignountry-throughnine-month roodywar ofindependence.We can never forget the brood-sta inedWar ofIndependencef threemill ion ivesandsacrif ices f numerous thersaswe celebrateh is great v ic tory.Today, remember hose freedomf ghters, wi th deep respect , who sacri fced the ir l ives for ou rindependence' alsopay homageo our great eader nd atherof thenationBangabandhuheikhMujiburRahman, hose isionaryeadershipinsp ired s to achieve ur rong-cherishedreamof an independentnation-state.

Liberation ar was undamentaily peopre's ar,a war of countressunknownmartyrs, war of aspirations nd dreams o achievereedomfrom poverty and hunger.Four decadeshave gone by since ou rindependencen 1971. t 's not a long spanof t ime in the historvof anation;n fact, ess han onegeneration.t 'snot insignif icantither or anat ion 'seconomic growth and nat ionardeveropment. angradesheconomy uring hisperiodhas astedbothcommendableuccessesndpainful ailures' n this backdrop, wourd ike o make an attempt topresentbeforeyou a rev iewof our economic chievementsgainstexpectat ionsn my lectureon 'Fourdecades f Bangradesh: ne wbeginning f oureconomy'.I havegiven his lectureat a t ime sign i f icantor the nation. tss ign i f icanceas beenampl i f iedwhen the spir i t of l iberat ionwar isrek ind led n the youth with the shahbaghmovement.This is anopportunemoment o reflecton our dynamiceconomy esurtingro mourconcerted ffortand o renew ur commitmento buildu prorp"rouSBangladesh.


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FOUR ECADESFBANGLADESH:' A NEWBEGINNINGFOURECONOMYThere were dreams and expectations unning deep behind th eemergence f Bangladesh:reams f freedom rom economic nd socialexploitation, emocratic ights and self-reliance.t should be kept inmind hat he paramount river or establishingn ndependent ountrywasa desperate esire or economicreedom lthoughhe emergence fBangladesh as orchestrated nderpolit ical ecision nd leadership.Theagitation or ndependenceot momentum ue o an extreme ocio-economic iscrimination revailing etween he two parts of erstwhilePakistan. shared enseof economic eprivation mong he Bengalisplayed s a driving orcebehindall movements uring ift iesand sixtiesamid strong socio-economic erspective f languagemovement.

However, he ver y nature of economicdiscriminati on tarted tosurfaceo the people rom sixties. he ealpicture f discrimination aspointed ut by a few patrioticBengali conomistsn heir esearcheshdanalyses t that t ime. They revealedhat the l i on shareof nationalbudgetused o be allocated or the then West Pakistan lthough heeasternpart was ar ger n terms of population, he revenue ollectedfrom he then EastPakistan ashlgher han hat of ts budget ll ocation.West Pakistan sed o enjoyallocation f most of the foreignaid,Theexportearningsromagriculturaltems mostlyute and ea)producednthe EastPakistan as spent mostly or the development f the WestPakistan.An electionposter or 1970 general lectiondepicteda terr ib le

pictureof the economic eprivation nd dispar t5r.he annual evenueexpenditureor West Pakistan as more han three imes higher hanthat of EastPakistan.he prices f essentialommoditiesike ice,wheatand oil were double n EastPakistan omparedo thoseof West.WestPakistanisccupied bout907oof central overnment nd mil itary obs.Not only he economic xploitation,he then Pakistani overnment ndjunta committedaggression gainstBengali ultureand heritage. heaccumulated iscriminati onnd exploitation radually urned nto amovement or establishing emocratic ights;which was eventuallyreflected hrough he ar med l iberationwar iri 1971with uccessfulcompletion. angabandhuheikhMujiburRahman,he dearest eader fBengalis, resentedhe historic ix-point emands o protest hose


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xplo i ta t ions 'The aggrievedBengal is tark ly responded o thoseppressions y west pakistanthrough heii mandates n the generalelection of '1970.The Awami te-ugr"- under the leadership ofangabandhuot absorute uioritv ln'trrat 'lection.Despite hat, th e*::,:':::::j" :r^r:ni:oT.r, noirer..""il"" handver owero he_in nqn1ty, Asa re,sut,non_.ooi"r"';;;;;.,ff ;:::H?J:;throughoutMarch 197.t, l id"r. t f , . i"rJ"rrf, ip of Bangabandhu. herincipalmessase f 7th -March(1g7:.);";; ; given by Bangabandhuwasalsogaining reedom rom at sortsof exproitations.he concernorconomic reedomwas_clearlyesonatedi t lat historicspeech.Th eiberation ar broke ut rom fiu urfv ho*, "f iu March1971.

f lWitha andmeasurinl-UU:g9Osqmiles.,angladeshegants ourney sn independentationendowed itfr foi,rrvesand negatives.herighter ide efrectshe stronga"rir" oitt,u peopreo gaineconomic,oriticar nd curturarreedom]*t" aruur of peoprewas o positionBangladeshn the ,ortd,.r1? ;. o;vJrt; free,dynamic nd tiberaremocraticountry veradicatingociar iscriminatitnna J.hiir-r.,,ngsociatustice.The biggest egJtive";;; ;;;' il#.:ri,r"j*,,.economy, ackingn funds, nfrastructurend skilledmanpower,angladeshardly adanymeans"ltli o"""rty, we werebrandedoutsideworrdas a poor.countryweilnt downby naturar aramities,amine ndstarvation nda Aevastate?*-norr. Theports, ransportystem nd ndustries.were.alldamageJ rr,ng he war.Theexportasketr/asimitedo uteand eaonry.'r"r" *u, no emittance,oranyentionableoreignxchange"r"ru".AndnomemUershipn MF.Manyexpertswere rustrated t the post_liberationfragile ocio_conomiconditionsf thecountry;or"'oi*'", *".u ,rrJ rt"pt-i."rbouthe chance f sustenanc""tir'r"-i"r"iry.Forme, SsecretarvfItate fenrv Kissinger,u.bbed""cr";";l' ' ;r " ;il".,"r[sr' o.rtn.,,ependentn foreign id. Norwegi"n-"*norist Farand nd Britishconomist arkinson..termedBangladeshs a ,Testcase fo revelopment"n'r976,heywrote oo'or.itrea Bangradesh:a testcaseor development'hereheyopined'.ratii'g"nsrudeshansucceednconorniceveropmentnsuch condition'"n "nycountry f heworrdan evelopoo .Theeconomistuo had o .reverseheirviews o someextent nangladeshn 2OO7 nd said th;i-," ;;ri"inabte developmentnangladeshs possibre s evident rom her rimitedbut significantrogressn heeconomy ade uringhree ecaOesr more,.t implies

that the peoplewho were otherwisepessimist ic bout economicprospect f Bangladeshre now recognizingt as an emerging conomy,The impressive evelopment f today 's Bangradeshs requent lycaptured y reputed nternational edia.Bangladeshs sti l l a test-caseto many esearchersut hat s n a posit ive ense. angladeshs ermedas a test case or development:o test whethereconomic evelopmentand sustainable emocracy an go hand n hand with such a row pe rcapita ncome, o uncoveran enigmaon how such a GDp growth isachieved espite ackof governancend persistent orit icarnstabirity.whether his kindof growthcanbe sustained ithoutadequate rogr"r,made n polit ical overnance tc.someare ermingBangladeshsa rolemodel oo .

il lForecastson Fore ign Direct Investment (FDl) and EconomicDevelopment y GoldmanSachs, Mult inationalnvestment ompany,are generallywell acceptedworldwide. t once forecasted boui th eeconomic ise of Brazil,Russia,ndiaand china,coilectiverynownasBRlcwhichwas aterprovedo be correct. aterGoldman aihs ncludedSouthAfrica n the groupandeventuailyhangedhe acronym" inri l ,Recentlyhey prepared new ist of 11 merging ountries all ing he m'nexteleven'basedn economic rogress f these ountries. angladeshis one of those isted1r.The organizationaid hat the majority-of hepopulation f Bangladeshs young who can change he future of thecountry. too believehat he conscious ouths rurycarry he symbor fpotentials f Bangladesh.he commitment f this ech savvy ouths oprogress,heir skil lsand courage o face the chailenges ourd pushBangladeshorward in its journey o -development. p Morgan alsomentioned ive frontiereconomiesncludingBangladesh. ccording othe world Bank,Bangladeshas ail the potentiarso becomea miJateincome ountryby 2o21.TheUSAalso orecastedhat the nexteleven,countrieswil l surpasshe 27 countries f the European nionby 2030.Accordingo the Guardian,he nationar airyat London, angradlsh ir tsurpass he westerncountriesn terrnsof economic rowth by 2050.Besides,atingagencies uchas Moody'sand standaid& pooi'shavebeen consistentlyawardingsatisfaitory sovereigncredit rating toBangladesh.heirprojections arso akenas an ndicit ionof stabirit l iandpotentials f Bangladesh.


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VIIRemittance ent by migrantworkers s yet another mportantdriverofBangladeshconomy.t has been contr ibut ing s the main driver osusta inable conomicgrowth during last few years. In the pre-independencera, he scopeof our entrance o global abormarketwa svery l imi ted and a few number of workers used to go abroad

lndependenceas opened he doors o the global abormarket or theBangladeshis.he people f Bangladeshavenow spread l l over heworld . Not a s ing le i l lagen Bangladeshightbe oundnowwhichha snot sent some of i ts people o work abroad.Recent lymany emaleworkers realsogoingabroad. bout 8 mil l ionpeople f Bangladeshreworkingat present n more han 150 countries f the world.More thanhalfa mil l ion eople re aking obsabroad very ear.In terms of inward remittance,Bangladeshs the seventh argestcountry n he worldand he secondargest n SouthAsia.Thesizeof thisremit tance s more than 10% of GDB more han hal f o f the exportearnings nd about 10 t imes of the foreignaid. Bangladesh as set arecord n nward emittancen2012with U5$14.2 il l ion. he emittance

earningsmaycrossUS$14 i l l ion n the current iscalas well.The oreigncurrency eceived s remittance s beingspent n the agriculture ndruraldevelopment hich eads o modernization f agricultural ystem.Productions also ncreasing s expected.Migrantworkersare makingspecia lcontr ibut ionso fore ign exchange eserve.Because f th econsistcntemittancenflow, he oreign xchangeeserve f the countryexceededUS$ 13 b i l l ion at the beginn ing f current isca l .At thebeginning f March 2013, he FX reserve roke he recordwith US$14bi l l ion.Creat ion f such a huge eserve n a develop ing ountry ik eBangladeshs a great achievementndeed.FX reserve f a countryequiva lent o meet ing hree months mport payments s termed assatisfactory. e haveUS$14 bil l ion eservewhich s suff iciento makepaymentor mports f ivemonths.

vllI t is clearly isible hat the country s firmly progressingowardsstrongsocio-economicevelopment.he evenue udgetwasonlyTk 280 ciorein the FiscalYear FY) 1973-74.he total of revenue nd developmentbudgethavenow reachedo Tk 1 lac 92 thousand rore' The averagenominalGDP ncreasedbout28 t imesduring he decade I 2oo2-2O11comoared o the first decade(972-1981) after independence' heaverage nnualGDPgrowthwas3.87o uring1973-80.n contrast o 37oGDPgrowth of the world at th is moment, he countrycont inuesoachievemore han 60/oGDP rowth.The average nnual rowthof GDPwas5.40/ouring ast hreeyears.n the currentFY oo, he GDPgrowthis expectedo be more han ast hreeyearsaverageate .e.6.40/o. ls othis achievements largelydependent n the polit icalcondit ions ndstabil i ty f the world economy. esired esultsof economic rowthar ehaving osit ivempactsn poverty eduction.

Rateof povertyhas decreased ignif icantly.t was more han 70%ofour decades go whichhas comedown o only 31.5% n 2010and sbelow29o/o t present, think his ratehasalready omedown o 27o/o'One of the main components f the Mi l lenniumDevelopment oals(MDGs) was to bring down the levelof poverty o 25o/o y 20'15'Byobservinghe rend, t canbe easily aid hat his part icularargetcanbeachieved venbefore he deadline. he ndexof nequalitys either tableor downward.As a result,we were able tc-, eep he pace of socialdevelopmentt a satisfactoryevel.Bangladeshasalsobeensuccessfulin keeping he rate of population rowth under control or init iat ivestakenby bothgovernment nd non-government.he rate of populationgrowthhasnow beenbroughtdown o 1'5%.The birth rate of 6.30lon1975has comedown o 2.3o/o t present 2011). his s sucha rate atwhichpopulation izeof a country emains table or ong. he percapitaincomewas aboutUS$100 efore ndependencehichhasnow reachedto US$850.PercapitaGDPnow standsat TUS$772. wo decades go ,the averagencome f a laborwas belowTk 100 perdaywhichhas isento Tk 4OOperday now,The aborers an evensavea sumaftermeetingthe ir da i ly needs.Tlreycan buy various ndustr ia l roductswith th esavings.n that way a strongdemandbasehasbeencreated nside hecountry. or his reasonwe havebeenable o face TheGreatRecession'in a proficientway compared o many other countries'Many of thecountriesn he worldcouldnot achieve ucheconomic uccessn suchashortspanof ime.


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vi l lWe havewitnessedotsof successesn ourhealth nd education ectorstoo' Accordingo the MDG report2011, angladeshasachieved itherfullor part ial uccessn manygoals ncluding eradicationf hunger ndextremepoverty, nsuring rimaryeducationor all, reduction f infanrmorta l i ty ra te, empoweringwomen and prevent ionof HIVlAlDS.Bangladesh as alreadyachieveda UN Award in recogni t ion funprecedenteduccessn reducingnfantmortality ate.Theprogressnreducingnfantand maternalmortality ate n Bangladeshs comparableto the spectacularuccess f Japan n th is f ie ld in la te nineteenthcentury. n 1971 nfantmortality ate was14.60/o hich camedown to3.8% n 2O11.he ateof maternalmortality amedown o 2.jgo/on 2O11.The average ife expectancy as ncreased y 19 years eachingo 69years n the spanof only our decades. hisaverageife expectancysfour yearshigher han hat of India, lthough ndianaverage er capitaincome 1 wo timeshigher han hat of Bangladesh.umberof peoplesufferingrom malnutrit ion as comedown o half n last our decades.The reason ehind hissuccessn Bangladeshs massawareness.t 's sthe result f o, int ffortsmadeby bothgovernmentnd non-governmentorganizations,hosewho used o l ivewith superstit ions,eredevoidofmodernizationre now allowingheirkids o bevaccinated,eeding ra lsaline olution nd akingconsultancyervice rom specializedoctors.The iteracy atehas ncreased y wo imesduring he ast ourdecadesandstoodat560/on 2011.

The success f Bangladeshn bring inggenderpari ty n primaryeducation nro l lment as been phenomenal. he rat io of male an dfemale tudents t primary evelwas55:45 n nineties hich mprovedo53:47 at presentwith the blessingof free education or femalesatsecondary evel . n last th i r ty years,Bangladesh as made 65 %advancementn social evelopmentndex.Bangladeshas anked 46thamong 87 ountr ies t UNDPHuman.Developmentndex HDl) reportre leasedn 2012.These posi t ivemani festat ionsf socio-economicind icators rove he rad ica l mprovementn l iv ingstandard f.poorpeople f hecountry.

IXWhile commenting n the unprecedenteduccess f Bangladesh,obellaureateBangaliEconomist rofessor martya Sen said that India sranked ower than Bangladeshn the index of human resourcesdevelopment. everal imes he pointed hat it 's a great successofBangladeshhat he countrymade t possibleo accomplish any hingsin a shortspanof t ime despite eing country f ow percapita ncome.TheWall Street ournal rote hat Bangladeshs no onger bottomlessbasket; ather t is a role model or manyother countries. he recentlypublishedeport it led WorldEcohomic ondit ions nd Outlook2013',wri t ten by the Uni ted Nations UN) pointedout that the economiccondit ionsn Bangladesh as avorable mid slowgrowth n the SouthAsia astyear The ncreasedlow of remittance, rowthof consumptionexpenditure ndprivate ector nvestment layed n nstrumentalole nbuildinghis avorablemage commentedir" UN.

The awards nd recognit ionsf Bangladesho havesomeex actor.This saga s inspiring: ow a low ncome ountrywith l imited esourcesbut f ighting spirit can change he course.The economy has beenundergoing massive ransformation. ependency n agriculture asbeen educed nd the importance f the manufacturing nd industrialsectors s mounting. he countrywhichstarted ts journeywith a lowindustrialbase our decades go has been experienci ng ult ifacetedindustrial evelopment.he RMGsectorhasgot a strongbaseby now.Lightengineering,groprocessing,owerand energy, harmaceuticalsand chemical, eatherand shoes, eramic, ement,ship breaking ndinformation technology sectors have emerged as new potentialindustries.he ute sector s being evived. xportbaskets re now richwith d iverseproducts.The export wi tnesses ivers i tynot on ly inproductsbut also n destinations cross he globe.The expansion factivit ies y banksand f inancial nstitut ionsFls) as well as insuranceand investment ompanies elpedbringing he diversity n exports, nlast our decades, angladeshas developed soundeconomic ase nassistance ith the flourished anking ectorwhich strengthenedheeconomyn one handand ensured nstitut ional ccess f individuals nthe other.

ln 1972, he country had only six state-owned anks.Number ofbanks at present s 47 owned by the governmentand the privateentrepreneursncludingoreign nes.Nine more commercial ankswil lstart operations oon.The country'sbankingnetwork s composed fmore han 8,300 branches crosshe country.Number f ruralbranchesis more han hoseof the urbanones. heprivate ectorbanks avealsobeen orced o open more han or equalnumberof ruralbranchesha n


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urbanones.For hat reason, n unprecedentedevival asbeenvisible n athe ru16l conomy idedby he newly ntroducedmobilebanking ystem.This nstantmoney ransfer rrangement asbeenproviding new ayofhope to the unbanked opulat ion f the country,Some 55 mil l iondepositors ndabout10 mill ionborrowers remaintaining ccounts iththese branches. he total advance nd deposithave isen o Tk 4,319bill ion ndTk 5,395bill ion espectively.

XSinceninet ies,Bangladesh as been embracing ful l - f ledgedfreemarketeconomy', he very essence f which s open competit ion. hesimple ule of 'opencompet i t ion's 'survival f the f i t test ' .Buyers i l lprefer convenient r ice only. Bangladesh as been famil iar as theexporterof RMG,manpower, hrimps, eathergoodsand from cottageindustries roductso shipsas welldue o this reeeconomy,nitially heimport ariff n Bangladesh asexcessive hichused o hamper mports.The duty structurewas liberalizedn the nineties. he averagemportduty in 1991was 57olo hich came down to 36 0/on 1993-94and 1Oolotpreserlt ftergradual ecrease.a

A hugeamount of surplus und has beengeneratedn Bangladesheconomy ue o opening p markets.Goodnumber f newentrepreneurshasalsoemerged o util ize his surplus. malland Medium Enterprises(SMEs)have expanded remendously. he economicact iv i t iesalsoexpanded. he peopleof the countryare never ate n util izing singleeconomic pportunity. uccess f one s nspiring thers. hat s how heflow of employment as movedacross he country.Entrepreneursregaining uccesses y raisingpoultry,doing isheries, stablishing airyfarms and runningvariousagricultural rojects.The success tory ofBangladesh n last four decades s the story of massive rise ofentrepreneursspeciallyhe youngones.The overall evelopment f thecountry may get further momentum if these young and diligententrepreneursare provided with adequate assistance.Lot morepotentials il l come rue. n rue sense,Bangladeshs on he move'.As anation,we have housand earsold heritage. he beautyand ichness fthe country s depictedwell n the song DhonO DhanyePushpe horaAmaderEi Bashundhara" rittenby Dijendralal oy. hiscountry s notonly blessedwith spectacularnatural beauty,she has unl imitedpotentials espitemany imitations. he potential ectors re spread llover the country that requires only nurtur ing and unfal ter ingadvancement.

A major reason or he optimism urrounding angladeshs tshugepopulation ith potentials. he mainadvantage ere s hegrowingsectionof workingpopulation.Workingpopulationsgrowingat a double ate (2.80/o)han the Srowth rateof overallpopulation1.5%).A larger ection f overall opulationalls nthe ag e range of 15 to 35 at present. n the next two to threedecadeshe sizeof the working opulation.e. he young ectionof population ill surpasshe sizeof old ones.No wonders,hi syoungsection f population re he mostpotential esources fa country who can contributemore o change he fate of th enation.This is a lifetimeopportunitywhich comesonly once.China and India have util ized his opportunity.The workingpopulationn China asengagedhemselves ore n productionsectorwhile n India t was he lnformation echnology ector.This s called demographic ividend', ccording o the WorldBank, he country has o create1.5mill ion obs everyyear toenjoy his dividend. he manpowerhas to be more skilled oavail his opportunity. he youngand workingpopulation f thecountry re earning ugeamountof foreign urrency y workingabroad.Our youths ow a dayarenot chasing fter obsonlybu tare trying to be entrepreneurs.We can see lot of init iativesaround, ot of new activit ies nd efforts undertaken y them.Everyone s t rying to improvehislher condit ionby doingsomething, e t smallor arge. heycontinueo set examples ydoing elf-employmentrojectsn diverse ector.s.

a RuraleConomy as been playinga crucial role in achievingsustainableconomic rowth n recent ears. change asbeenset in the villages. t present n the rural areas,no worker savailable t a wage ess han Tk 4OOevenafteran offerof threegratuitousmealsa day.Previously, orkerscouldhaveboughttwo to two and half kg of r icewith their dailyearnings ut nowthey can buy 9-10kg of r ice with the same,The main reason fthe riseof wage s he hugeexpansion f economic ctivit ies nrural areas.A major sectionof the rural peoplehas engagedthemselves n the activit iesother than the agriculture.Thedemand or the agricultural abors has risen as many smallentrepreneursre n the making. egetablearming, oultryan ddairy farms are beingestablishedn the rural areas.Many ofthemare ivingon isheries, lowers re cultivated ommerciallyand home decorationmaterials re beingproduced oo. Smalland medium ndustries,rade and commercd nd many otherinit iatives avebeenspread.Repair nd maintenance ctivit iesfor r ickshaw-van, gr icul tural nstruments and electronicmaterials re also aking placemassively. eople re engagingthemselves ith hisexpansion f ruraleconomy. s a result,he


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rateof ruralemployment asgoneup' Thepurchasingowerofruralpoorhasalso ncreased.he ield abors nd day aborers,who used o engageheirkids or earning xtra ncomewithoutsendinghem to school, re currently endingheir children oschools. ural nfrastructures beingconstructed. he l iv ingstandard of rural people is enhancing hrough modernmanagement.he armersof ruraiareasare now usingmobilephones nd completing ailyactivit ies sing CT. f the paceofadvancementf ruraleconomy ontinues, rbanpeoplewill beencouragedo moveand ive n hevillagesn uture.We have ertile and and hugepopulation. bout50% of he"populationf the country s engagedn agricultural ctivit ies'Contribution f agricultureo GDP was 19o/on 2011{2 iscal'Nonetheless,e couldutil ize fractionof the true potentials fthe agriculture ector. f we couldexplorehe full potentials fagrigulture y properplanning nd restructuring,e couldverywelf export ood in the globalmarketbesidesensuring oo dsecurity t home- t is evenpossibleo transformBangladeshsan agro based ndustrially eveloped ation.Potential ectorslike fruit- juiceproduction, oultryand dairy farming, armingBlackBengal oat, isheries nd dried ishproduction,dible il ,cultivation f palm,pearl arming all hese ancontributeo theeconomy ignificantly.he agricultureector houldbe broughtundermechanizationo increase roductivity'With thisgoal nmind,adequateacilit ies nd ncentives ave o be ensuredorthe scientists f BangladeshgriculturalUniversity nd otherresearchnstitutions, he scaleof agrobased ndustries as obe broadened.angladeshank asopened specialwindowof'refinancingcheme'or agroprocessingndustriesoo'We mustcont inue to create dif ferent opportunit ies or the ne wentrepreneurs.

Whenever e discuss bout ndustry, niyRMGcomesn buttherearemanyother ndustries hichhavealready hown heirpotent ials.We have o consider hose.The pharmaceut icalssectorhasemerged s a potential ector n the globalmarket'Export arningsrom hissector ncreasedy'15imesduring helastdecade. angladeshi adedrugsareexportedo a total of70 countriesncluding SA.Evenhe drugs or complex iseasesuchaq cancer re producedn the country. he country s alsoadv6ncingn medical echnologies.angladesh ill be able osavehundreds f mill ionsof dollar f people's endency o goabroad or medical reatmentcan be contained'The shipbui ld ing ndustry has alreadyopened a new hor izon orBangladesh.he country s ably moving orward with thisindustry nd s expectedo secure strongootholdn heglobal

marketverysoon.Bangladeshi ademid sizeand largeshipswereexportedo different ountriesn Europe nd USA n themeantime. hoseoceangoingshipsare sailing rom ports oportsbearinghe tag of 'Made n Bangladesh"he countrymaystandstrongby using his industry lone.The eather ndustryhas hugepotentialsoo if the environmentalamagecan becontrolled. ighquality eathers abundant ere.Earningots offoreign urrency y exportinghe leatherand eathergoods spossible.We have o move orward y usingpotentials f extile,ceramic, ement, ightengineering, achineriesor agricultureand small industry, urniture,plasticgoods,electronics,CTbasedproducts, icycle, ublications,ackaging,rozen oods,agriculturaloods ndspices, egetablesnd utegoods'

The industr ia l ectorcontr ibut iono GDP has now beenmoved o 31% rom only9olon the post ndependencera.Thisexpansion f industrial ector eadsus o the dreamof beingamiddle ncome ountry y 2021. otal xportearnings uringFY1973-74 ereUS$318 bill ionand mportpayments ereof US$7.67bill ion.During he ast iscal ear he exportearnings toodat US$24.3bill ionwhich s 30 timeshigher han hat of 1973.Onthe other hand, he import paymentswere of US$35.4 ill ionduring ast iscal whichwas also15 imes higher han that of1973. his s a great ransformationf Bangladeshconomy,hi shugevolumeof export-import an serveas solid evidencenreflectingapabilit iesf Bangladeshconomy.Thepace f expansion f softwarendustryn Bangladeshs alsovery impressive. angladeshs moving orward n ICT with arenewed ace.Due to the r ise of business xpensesn ICTservice roviding ountries, angladeshs considered s one ofthe most potential lternate estinationsor ICT services. heyoungentrepreneursre achieving ugesuccessn this sectortoo.Thousands f youngpeople reacquiring nowledge n IC Tfrom different ducationalnstitutionso preparehemselvessski l ledhuman esources.hey are expanding utsourcing rbusinessprocessing ndustry.The country has also madetremendous dvancementn freelancing ctivit ies. angladeshBank s providing ecessaryegulatory upport o eachof thissector ,Equityand Entrepreneurshipund (EEF) has beencustomizedor he expansionf ICT ndustries'It is possibleo turn Bangladeshntoan exportoriented ountryfrom the currentstatusof import dependency, xportsectorshaveundergone massiveransformationuring our decadesafter ndependence.utesectorused o occupy70olo f exportbasket n 1972.The demand or jute had reduced ramatically

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aftlr the introduction f artif icial iber n the seventies,n theeighties,he labor ntensive MG ndustry tarted o expand nBangladesh hich is contributing 8o/o l export earningsatpresent.The number of non-tradit ionaltems along withtraditionaltemshas ncreasedn the exportbasket. longwiththe traditional tems ike RMG, ea, obacco, eather, rugsandships, non-traditional tems like ceramic,cement, urniture,plastic oods, icycle,CTproducts,ish, hrimp, ried ish, rab,flower,vegetables, uava,cap, nakshi kantha (embroideredquilt), potteries,bamboo and cane made goods and otherhandicraftsrebeing xportedo many ountries.The industrial ector s expanding ery fast in this country fhugepopulation,While at the same ime, developed ountriesare acing aborshortageor their ndustries, angladeshnjoyssurplusmanpower, esides,aw materials, nergy esources ndproductionriendly atural nvironment reprevailing ere.Weneed o setup moresmall,medium nd arge ndustries. e alsoneed nvestment or setting up those industries.Renownedglobalcompanies re nterestedo do businessn Bangladesh;many of them are alreadydoing businesshere.We shouldunderstandhat withoutanyprospects f making isk adjustedreturn;hey werenot here o do business. ut an nfrastructurefor4sustainableevelopmentan't only be built upon by foreigndirect nvestmentsFDl).For hat reason, e have o encourageand attract ocalentrepreneurs/investors.ocalpeoplewill feelfree in wor.king nd doing business ith localcompanies.Wehave o move orwardby using hese nvestment otentials.Wemightgo for large cale ndustries nder oint venture, he PP PCellshould e moreactiveand nnovativen this connection. Bhasalready xtended ecessaryooperationn his egardoo .We may not have bundant atural esourcesut whatwe haveis not insignificant ither.The land,water and peopleare thegreat resources { this country. Besides, great volume ofenergyand mineral esourcesike oil, gas and coal remainedunexplored nder he soil.The properexploration nd usesofthese natural resources an help faster development f th ecountry.We have o undertake olicy nitiativeso adopt atesttechnologyn gasexploration. e can meet he energy emandof next 50 yearsby exploring oa.ls.We have o ensureusingappropriateechnologyor exploration s he country s denselypopulatedwith prudentpolicyand decisionwith due care orpublicsafety and protectionof environment. he Bayof theBengals another reaof potentiality, odernseaportscanbebuilt here. t is abundantwith fishahd rich with other mineralsincludingi l andgas,

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a The potentials f tourism ndustryn Bangladeshreenormous.The naturallybeautiful,historical, eligiously ignificantan dculturally mportant placesand modern architectures aveunlimited otentialsor tourism.We can createopportunity yintroducing odern, uxuriousivercruise.ntroduction f cablecarsat Rangamati ayopen urther oads o opportunities. hesizeof middleclass nd highermiddleclass s increasingn thecountry.Non-resident angladeshisnd foreign nvestors realso coming to Bangladesh or investment.We have toconcentraten expandinghe ndustry y consideringveryone'sdemandn mind.O Initiatives eyondgovernment .e. aken by non-governmentorganizationsNGOs)have ots of contributionsn Bangladesh.'NGOsplayed ignificantole o preventallof consumptionevelof the ruralpoor.Thecountry s brandedas he pioneerof microcredit n the world.The well controlledmicrocredit s playingverysignificantole n selfemployment ased overty eductionacross he globe.NGOs are contributingheavilyalong withgovernmentn education nd health ervice, opulation ontrol,disastermanagementtc .During he last ew decades,he inclusive evelopmenttrategy ndmassive olicyand nstitutionaleforms elpedbringpositive esults nsocioeconomic pheres. id-termand ong erm development trategyfor achieving quitybased rowthplayed ue roles n ensuring rimaryhealthcare,education,rainingand regularbudgetary llocationsorelderlyand widowallowances ndersocial afetynet programs. hesealso played -olesn bringingcontinuous eform o revenuegeneration,facilitatingnternal roduction f necessaryrops oensure oodsecurityand strengthening ural economy,undertaking nancial nclusionprogramsby BB,proviflingcost effective nnovative ankingservices othe people f remote reas f the country n ointeffortsby banks,microcredit agencies nd mobi le phone companiesusing modern lCT.Bangladeshank sgoing o introduce gent anking uideline erysoon

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XIThe achievementsf Bangladeshconomy uring ast our decades anThe achievementsf Bangladeshconomy uring ast our decades anno waybe undermined. e may ndulge ntoa threadbareeview n hescale f developmenthat shouldhavebeenachieved uring he period,but therewill alwaysbe somegapsbetween xpectationsnd realities.Manyof our dreams avebeenmet although omewere not during helast our decades. ur economic trbngth asalready eenproven; ha twe need o do s o protect hose hrough airpracticen politics.

a Bangladesh ad to face many challenges uring ast fourdecades nd s sti l l acing he same. hevicious ycleof povertyis one of those.Despite chieving ignificant uccessn poverty;eduction, bout40 millionpeopleof the countryare sti l l poorimong which 25 mil l ionare hardcore. he climatechangeeffects ncreased atural alamities nd environmentalazards.Its negative mpactsare evident n the coastaland river bedareas,Poverty et n anew n the coastal reasdue o negativeimpacts f climate hange.Many people re beingevicted ro mtheseareas ue o failure o copewith the adversities. lthoughBangladeshas exhibited ts uniquecapacity n facingnaturalcalamities but i t 's quite insignifcant compared to thewidespreadmpactsof climatechange.So, we have o equipourselveso face he hreats f climate hang e. angladeshankand he Government f Bangladeshave akensome nnovativeinitiativesncluding reenbankingo face he challenges.utwehave o takepreparationor acing he worst.

a Utilizing nlimited otentials f hecountry sanother hallenge.Actuallywe could eal ize nlya fraction f potentials f ourhugepopulation ue o lackof proper irection. owever,t 's oo earlyto be conclusive.he sizeof our working'youthss he key o thesocial, conomic nd echnologicalevelopment f Bangladesh.We have o utilize hem o build he nation.To ransform heseyouths nto real assets, hey have o be made efficient, heyneed raining or skill enhancement nd diversifiednvestmentincluding reationof scope or entrepreneurialnitiatives,Weneedmassive xpansion f labor ntensive mall and cottagefndustrieso create mploymentsor heyouths.a We have o make arge nvestmentnenergy ector n his ageoftechnology. he physical nfrastructurencluding ower an denergy s sti l lverymuch nadequateere.We havemanynaturalresources hichcan be utilized n producingow costpower. t' shearteningo share hat he present overnment asprepared

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master plan to produce 39,000 MW power by 2030. Th egovernments in the right rack o generate ower.A contracthasalready eensignedwith Russiaor installation f a nuclearpowerplantwhich s expected o generate ,000 MW power.Installation f a coalbasedpowerplant s goingon. Besides ehave o support he initiatives f producing ower rom solarpower,biogasand wastages. he scale of creative nitiativestakenby Bangladesh ankand he Government f Bangladeshsupporting roduction f renewable nergy houldbe extendedfurther.We areyet o make uff icientmprovement f our roads, ridges,portsand ailways. haka,he capital ity of Bangladesh,nd tsadjacentareasare crippledwith heavy raffic am. We havescope o improve n thesesectors nd he present overnmenthasconcentratedn his ssue.Construction f many lyoverssin finalstage; et we have o do lot mor e on this. We need oimproveour rail and river transportation ystem o facilitatetransportation t low cost.Projects f highspeedbus and rainservices re also to be undertaken.to acilitate ast er travelbetweenmportant ities.Bangladeshs he eighth argest ountry n heworld n ermsofpopulation ut 94th in terms of size.The cultivable andsaregetting reducedday by day under the pressure rom overpopulation. f the situationcontinues,his might ca l l for adisaster or us.We have o buildplanned abitats ven n ruralareas.Failure o generatemore employment pportunitiesorruralpeoplewill exerta hugepressure n the cities.We have oconcentratengreen ndwellgoverned rbanmanagement.Unemployment is still a serious problem. Alternativeemployment hould e created o reduce nemployment. neofthe main sources or l iv elihood or the peopleof agrarianBangladeshanbe ivestock nd isheries. hese wo sectors redeveloping ery ast.A large ob marketneeds o be developedto reduceunemploymentwhich in turn requires nvestment,Government ngoing nitiativesor creatingobs abroad houldcontinue.We shouldcontinue o encourage elatedprivatesectorso do he same nsuring oodgovernance.lnvestment n. manufacturingndustries eeds o be ncreasedfor ob creation.We need o maintain welcoming nvironmentto attractFDl.For his eason, pecialndustrial ones eed o beset up urgently. he centralbank s providing ecessary olicyreforms o facilitat e ncrease f foreign.nvestment,We wantmoredomesticnvestmentoo so hat money emains ithin hecountry.We urge he nves torso report o Bangladeshank nd

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',fl/ ott 'ur. "grlrtory authorities f they haveany problemor havepreferablemode of cooperation equired.Becausewe ar ecommitted o increase omestic nvestment.We also have ocreatediverseopportunit ies or Non-Resident angladeshis(NRB)o nvest t home.a lt is a pretty big challenge o provideassistanceo the ne wentrepreneursn building omorrowsBangladesh. e have ostand by the ir side with finance, echnology nd ideas.Th egovernment nd Bangladeshankare upholdingheirefforts oenhance ccesso finance or the people ikemarginal armers,sharecroppers,ew entrepreneurs, omenentrepreneurs, hodid not get bank oansearlier.Arrangements avealso beenmade o provide equired inance o those who have proventhemselves s established ntrepreneursn the f elds ofreadymade arments,extile, harmaceuticals,eather, eramic,cement, hip building ectors. he government nd BangladeshBankare committed o removeany barrier hat stands n theway.We couldnot utilize he potentials f ICTsectorproperly ue olack of English nd Computer nowledge. o, national evelinitiatives nd privatesector nvestments re needed o makegur new generation xpert n English anguage nd computerknowledge. e have o put more ocus n expandingCT n thefieldof education.We need o increase ub-regional ooperation speciallyheeconomic etwork ith SouthAsia,ASEAN nd GMScountries.Regional conomic lliancemay also be formed, f necessary.Our tradevolumewith neighboringndia s increasing nd heconcerned eople houldalwaysbe vigilantso that this trendcontinues.We have to undertake nstitutional eforms to frame rightpolicies nd mplementhose n hepriority ectors.It cannot be denied hat we lack politicalstabilityand goodgovernance; e haveadministrative eakness nd weaknessnproper implementation of the projects. Corruption iswidespread.f we cannot emove orruptionwe cannotsustainour development chieved o far. Society s yet to have heambience f true peace. t i l l , hereexistpatches f indisciplinein the society.Our growthcouldhavebeenmuch higher f wecould reduce corruption and polit ical instabil i ty.So wedesperately eedpolitical tabil i ty nd effective overnanceocontinuehe progressnd o face uture hallengesuccessfully.,

xi lAs the barr iersof deveropment nd progressof Bangradesh reidentifed, emoval f hose hould ot be a ough ob either. believeha tBangladesh il l be able o standhighwith economic otentials n theworld in near fu ture by overcoming hese obstacres. angradesheconomy as achieved lot of successesy overcomingmanyhurdlessince ndependence.he economy f the countryhasshownadequateresil iencen facing ngoing lobal ecessionnd keepinghe growth at emoving. n terms of GDp growth rate, Bangladesh as secured opposition n southAsia n 2012-13iscal.However, e secure he seconoposition fter ndia n ermsof average rowth ate n ast iveyears. urmain arget or he growth s o eradicate overty. hat'swhy,we have ocontinuehe paceof this ncrusiveeveropment.trends.noider o enterinto the second tageof growthwe need o increase ur productivitythrough echnologicareveropment nd by deveroping"ik"t for th eSMEsectors.We have o increase ur foreign emittance y sendingmore skil led abor abroad.We have to increaseproductivity orreadymadearments y ncreasing agesor he abors.

Bangladesh ankhasundertaken program o bringdisadvantagedpeople f the societyunder inanciar ervices et to direct he countrytowards n environmentriendly,ncrusivend sustainabreeveropmeni.It formulated well hought ut poricy ncorporate ocialResponsibirity(CSR) nd s mplementinghoseat financiarectors raduaily. inancialinclusions a big part of thesestrategic lanning.We havealreadyintroduced efinance cheme or agricurture.ME and environmenifriendlyprojectswith our own fund to increase dequate nd visiblecredit low to these sectors.We have ntroducedbank accounts orfarmersand poor peopleof the societyand also introducedmodern,innovative nd technology asedbanking ervices ikemobirebankingetc.We have o ensureproperpolicy rameworkor localand foreigiprivate sector entrepreneurs n the areas of human ," ror. "development,youth skil l development, aster poverty r.udu;iio;,increased ovt. evenue xpenditureor the deveropment"i r"* ir."r.group, ncreased ovt. R & D expendituren environment riendlyagriculture,ower ndenergy ectors.Keepingn mind the need or society,s ontribution o makegoodmarket nefficiency, angradeshank s invitingFrs o undertake rg escaleCSRprograms o distributeeducation cholarship, evelop i' ehealthand renewable nergy ectorand o support he deveropmentfheritage, rt andculture.Banks aveprovided rg" r."rponre. he CSRfinancing y the financiar ectors as ncreased y more han7 times nlast our years. f these nitiatives ontinueBangradesh ii l be abre ostand ighasan inclusiveustainabreeveropment ode| n he worrd.

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Documents

A New Beginning of Our Economy by Atiur Rahman