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CHAPTER ONE “INTRODUCTION” 0 1

SWOT Analysis of Bangladesh

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Page 1: SWOT Analysis of Bangladesh

CHAPTER ONE

“INTRODUCTION”

0

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BANGLADESH A SHORT PROFILE

INTRODUCTION:

Background: Europeans began to set up trading posts in the area of Bangladesh in the 16th century; eventually the British came to dominate the region and it became part of British India. In 1947, West Pakistan and East Bengal (both primarily Muslim) separated from India (largely Hindu) and jointly became the new country of Pakistan. East Bengal became East Pakistan in 1955, but the awkward arrangement of a two-part country with its territorial units separated by 1,600 km left the Bengalis marginalized and dissatisfied. East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan in 1971 and was renamed Bangladesh. A military-backed caretaker regime suspended planned parliamentary elections in January 2007 in an effort to reform the political system and root out corruption; the regime has pledged new democratic elections by the end of 2008. About a third of this extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development.

GEOGRAPHY:

Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India

Geographic Coordinates: 24 00 N, 90 00 E

Map References: Asia

Area: Total: 144,000 sq kmLand: 133,910 sq kmWater: 10,090 sq km

Area - Comparative: Slightly smaller than Iowa

Land Boundaries: Total: 4,246 kmBorder Countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km

Coastline: 580 km

Maritime Claims: Territorial sea: 12 nmContiguous zone: 18 nmExclusive economic zone: 200 nmContinental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin

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Climate: Tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)

Terrain: Mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeastElevation Extremes: Lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m

Highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m

Natural Resources: Natural Gas, Arable land, Timber, Coal

Land Use: Arable land: 55.39%Permanent crops: 3.08%Other: 41.53% (2005)

Irrigated Land: 47,250 sq km (2003)

Total Renewable Water Resources:1,210.6 cu km (1999)

Freshwater Withdrawal (Domestic/Industrial/Agricultural):Total: 79.4 cu km/yr (3%/1%/96%)Per capita: 560 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards: Droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season

Environment –Current Issues: Many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; waterborne diseases prevalent in surface water; water pollution, especially of fishing areas, results from the use of commercial pesticides; ground water contaminated by naturally occurring arsenic; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation and erosion; deforestation; severe overpopulation

Environment –International Agreements:Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - Note: Most of the country is situated on deltas of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas: the Ganges unites with the

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Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually empty into the Bay of Bengal

PEOPLE:

Population: Definition Field Listing Rank Order 153,546,896 (July 2008 est.)

Age Structure: 0-14 years: 33.4% (male 26,364,370/female 24,859,792)15-64 years: 63.1% (male 49,412,903/female 47,468,013)65 years and over: 3.5% (male 2,912,321/female 2,529,502) (2008 est.)

Median Age: Total: 22.8 yearsMale: 22.8 yearsFemale: 22.9 years (2008 est.)

Population Growth Rate: 2.022% (2008 est.)

Birth Rate: 28.86 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death Rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net Migration Rate: -0.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex Ratio: At birth: 1.06 male(s)/femaleUnder 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female65 years and over: 1.15 male(s)/femaleTotal population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate: Total: 57.45 deaths/1,000 live birthsMale: 58.44 deaths/1,000 live birthsFemale: 56.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth: Total population: 63.21 yearsMale: 63.14 yearsFemale: 63.28 years (2008 est.)

Total Fertility Rate: 3.08 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS –Adult Prevalence Rate:Less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

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HIV/AIDS -People Living With HIV/AIDS:13,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - Deaths: 650 (2001 est.)

Major Infectious Diseases: Degree of risk: highFood or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid feverVectorborne Diseases: dengue fever and malaria are high risks in some locationsWater contact disease: leptospirosisAnimal contact disease: rabiesNote: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2008)

Nationality: Noun: Bangladeshi(s)Adjective: Bangladeshi

Ethnic Groups: Bengali 98%, other 2% (includes tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims) (1998)

Religions: Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)

Languages: Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English

Literacy: Definition: age 15 and over can read and writeTotal population: 43.1%Male: 53.9%Female: 31.8% (2003 est.)

School Life Expectancy (Primary To Tertiary Education):Total: 8 yearsMale: 8 yearsFemale: 8 years (2004)

Education Expenditures: 2.7% of GDP (2005)

GOVERNMENT:

Country Name: Conventional long form: People's Republic of BangladeshConventional short form: BangladeshLocal long form: Gana Prajatantri BanladeshFormer: East Bengal, East Pakistan

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Government Type: Parliamentary Democracy

Capital: Name: DhakaGeographic Coordinates: 23 43 N, 90 24 ETime Difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative Divisions: 6 Divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet

Independence: 16 December 1971 (from West Pakistan); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is known as Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh

National Holiday: Independence Day, 26 March (1971); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh

Constitution: 4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972; suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986; amended many times

Legal System: Based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; Universal

Executive Branch: Chief of State: President Iajuddin AHMED (since 6 September 2002)Note: The country has a caretaker government until a general election is held; Iajuddin AHMED remains as President and Minister of Defense, and all other Cabinet portfolios are held by Caretaker Advisers (CAs); the Chief CA, Fakhruddin AHMED, is roughly equivalent to a prime ministerElections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election scheduled for 16 September 2002 was not held since Iajuddin AHMED was the only presidential candidate; he was sworn in on 6 September 2002 (next election NA); following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually appointed prime minister by the president

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Election Results: Iajuddin AHMED declared president-elect by the Election Commission; he ran unopposed as president; percent of National Parliament vote – NA

Legislative Branch: Unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies; members serve five-year terms; note - parliament not in session during the extended caretaker regimeElections: last held 1 October 2001 (the scheduled January 2007 election has been postponed until 29 December 2008)election results: percent of vote by party - BNP and alliance partners 41%, AL 40%, other 19%; seats by party - BNP 193, AL 58, JI 17, JP (Ershad faction) 14, IOJ 2, JP (Manzur) 4, other 12; note - the election of October 2001 brought to power a majority BNP government aligned with three other smaller parties - JI, IOJ, and Jatiya Party (Manzur)

Judicial Branch: Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president)

Political Parties and Leaders:Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Bangladesh Communist Party or BCP [Manjurul A. KHAN]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIA]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Mufti Fazlul Haq AMINI]; Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh or JIB [Matiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya Party or JP (Ershad faction) [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD]; Jatiya Party (Manzur faction) [Naziur Rahman MANZUR]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Badrudozza CHOWDHURY and Oli AHMED]

Political Pressure Groups and Leaders:Advocacy to End Gender-based Violence through the MoWCA (Ministry of Women's and Children's Affairs)Other: environmentalists; Islamist groups; religious leaders; teachers; union leaders

International Organization Participation:ADB, ARF, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,

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UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

ECONOMY:

Economy -Overview: The economy has grown 5-6% over the past few years despite inefficient state-owned enterprises, delays in exploiting natural gas resources, insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated, and inefficiently-governed nation. Although more than half of GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single-most-important product. Garment exports and remittances from Bangladeshis working overseas, mainly in the Middle East and East Asia, fuel economic growth.

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity):$208.3 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (Official Exchange Rate):$72.42 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - Real Growth Rate: 6.3% (2007 est.)

GDP - Per Capita (PPP): $1,400 (2007 est.)

GDP -composition by sector:Agriculture: 19%Industry: 28.7%Services: 52.3% (2007 est.)

Labor Force: 69.4 millionNote: Extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $4.8 billion in 2005-06. (2007 est.)

Labor Force -By Occupation:Agriculture: 63%Industry: 11%Services: 26% (FY95/96)

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Unemployment Rate: 2.5% (includes underemployment) (2007 est.)

Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share:Lowest 10%: 3.7%Highest 10%: 27.9% (2000)

Distribution of Family Income -Gini Index:33.4 (2000)

Investment (Gross Fixed): 24.3% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget: Revenues: $7.01 billionExpenditures: $9.464 billion (2007 est.)

Public Debt: 37.4% of GDP (2007 est.)

Inflation Rate (Consumer Prices):9.1% (2007 est.)

Central bank Discount Rate: 5% (31 December 2007)

Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate:16% (31 December 2007)

Stock of Money: $8.444 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of Quasi Money: $32.4 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of Domestic Credit: $40.15 billion (31 December 2007)

Agriculture - Products: Rice, Jute, Tea, Wheat, Sugarcane, Potatoes, Tobacco, Pulses, Oilseeds, Spices, Fruit; Beef, Milk, Poultry

Industries: Cotton Textiles, Jute, Garments, Tea Processing, Paper Newsprint, Cement, Chemical Fertilizer, Light Engineering, Sugar

Industrial Production Growth Rate:8.4% (2007 est.)

Electricity -Production: 22.78 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity -Consumption: 21.37 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity -Exports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)

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Electricity -Imports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)

Oil -Production: 6,746 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil -Consumption: 89,940 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil -Exports: 1,351 bbl/day (2005)

Oil -Imports: 83,220 bbl/day (2005)

Oil -Proved Reserves: 28 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

Natural Gas -Production: 15.7 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural Gas -Consumption:15.7 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural Gas -Exports: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural Gas -Imports: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural Gas -Proved Reserves:141.6 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Current Account Balance: $804.7 million (2007 est.)

Exports: $12.45 billion (2007 est.)

Exports - Commodities: Garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood

Exports - Partners: US 23%, Germany 13%, UK 9.1%, France 5.5%, Belgium 4% (2007)

Imports: $16.67 billion (2007 est.)

Imports - Commodities: Machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement

Imports - Partners: China 15%, India 14.3%, Kuwait 8.3%, Singapore 6.2%, Hong Kong 4.2% (2007)

Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold:$5.278 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - External: $21.23 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

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Stock of Direct Foreign Investment - At Home:$4.971 billion (2007 est.)

Stock of Direct Foreign Investment -Abroad:$104 million (2007 est.)

Market Value of Publicly Traded Shares:$3.61 billion (2006)

Currency (Code): Taka (BDT)

Exchange Rates: Taka (BDT) per US dollar - 69.893 (2007), 69.031 (2006), 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004), 58.15 (2003)

COMMUNICATIONS:

Telephones -Main Lines in Use:1.187 million (2007)

Telephones -Mobile Cellular:34.37 million (2007)

Telephone System: General Assessment: inadequate for a modern country; fixed-line telephone density remains less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone subscribership has been increasing rapidly and is approaching 25 per 100 personsDomestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some fiber-optic cable in citiesInternational: country code - 880; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-4 fiber-optic submarine cable system that provides links to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia; satellite earth stations - 6; international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries (2007)

Radio Broadcast Stations: AM 15, FM 13, shortwave 2 (2006)

Television Broadcast Stations:15 (1999)

Satellite Ground Stations: Dhaka, Sylhet, Betbunia and Talibabad for International Tele-communication.

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Internet Country Code: .bd

Internet Hosts: 1,440 (2008)

Internet Users: 500,000 (2007)

TRANSPORTATION:

Airports: 16 (2007)

Airports -With Paved Runways:Total: 15Over 3,047 m: 12,438 to 3,047 m: 41,524 to 2,437 m: 4914 to 1,523 m: 1Under 914 m: 5 (2007)

Airports - With Unpaved Runways:Total: 11,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)

Pipelines: Gas 2,644 km (2007)

Railways: Total: 2,768 kmBroad gauge: 946 km 1.676-m gaugeNarrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)

Roadways: Total: 239,226 kmPaved: 22,726 kmUnpaved: 216,500 km (2003)

Waterways: 8,370 kmNote: Includes up to 3,060 km main cargo routes; network reduced to 5,200 km in dry season (2006)

Merchant Marine: Total: 40By Type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 27, container 5, passenger/cargo 1, and petroleum tanker 4Foreign-owned: 1 (China 1)Registered in other countries: 10 (Comoros 2, Honduras 1, Malta 2, Panama 2, Singapore 2, Togo 1) (2008)

Ports and Terminals: Chittagong, Mongla Port

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MILITARY:

Military Branches: Bangladesh Defense Force: Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force (Bangladesh Biman Bahini, BAF) (2008)

Military Service Age and Obligation:16 years of age for voluntary military service; 17 years of age for officers (both with parental consent); conscription legally possible in emergency, but has never been implemented (2008)

Manpower Available for Military Service:Males age 16-49: 41,199,340 (2008 est.)

Manpower Fit for Military Service:Males age 16-49: 31,968,168 (2008 est.)

Manpower Reaching Militarily Significant Age Annually:Male: 1,311,850Female: 1,246,012 (2008 est.)

Military Expenditures: 1.5% of GDP (2006)

TRANSNATIONAL ISSUES:

Disputes - International: Discussions with India remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, exchange territory for 51 small Bangladeshi exclaves in India and 111 small Indian exclaves in Bangladesh, allocate divided villages, and stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh protests India's fencing and walling off high-traffic sections of the porous boundary; a joint Bangladesh-India boundary commission resurveyed and reconstructed 92 missing pillars in 2007; dispute with India over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; after 21 years, Bangladesh resumes talks with Burma on delimiting a maritime boundary

Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons:Refugees (country of origin): 26,268 (Burma)IDPs: 65,000 (land conflicts, religious persecution) (2007)

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HISTORY OF BANGLADESH:

Remnants of civilization in the greater Bengal region date back four thousand years, when the region was settled by Dravidian, Tibeto-Burman, and Austro-Asiatic peoples. The exact origin of the word "Bangla" or "Bengal" is unknown, though it is believed to be derived from Bang, the Dravidian-speaking tribe that settled in the area around the year 1000 BC.

After the arrival of Indo-Aryans, the kingdom of Gangaridai was formed from at least the seventh century BC, which later united with Bihar under the Magadha, Mauryan and Sunga Empires. Bengal was later part of the Gupta Empire and Harsha Empire from the third to the sixth centuries CE. Following its collapse, a dynamic Bengali named Shashanka founded an impressive yet short-lived kingdom. Shashanka is considered the first independent king in the history of Bangladesh. After a period of anarchy, the Buddhist Pala dynasty ruled the region for four hundred years, followed by a shorter reign of the Hindu Sena dynasty. Islam was introduced to Bengal in the twelfth century by Sufi missionaries, and subsequent Muslim conquests helped spread Islam throughout the region. Bakhtiar Khilji, a Turkic general, defeated Lakshman Sen of the Sena dynasty and conquered large parts of Bengal. The region was ruled by dynasties of Sultans and feudal lords for the next few hundred years. By the 16th century, the Mughal Empire controlled Bengal, and Dhaka became an important provincial centre of Mughal administration.

European traders arrived late in the 15th century, and their influence grew until the British East India Company gained control of Bengal following the Battle of Plassey in 1757. The bloody rebellion of 1857, known as the Sepoy Mutiny, resulted in transfer of authority to the crown, with a British viceroy running the administration. During colonial rule, famine racked the Indian subcontinent many times, including the Great Bengal famine of 1943 that claimed 3 million lives.

Between 1905 and 1911, an abortive attempt was made to divide the province of Bengal into two zones, with Dhaka being the capital of the eastern zone. When India was partitioned in 1947, Bengal was partitioned along religious lines, with the western part going to India and the eastern part joining Pakistan as a province called East Bengal (later renamed East Pakistan), with its capital at Dhaka.The Shaheed Minar, which commemorates the Language Movement, is a well known landmark in Bangladesh.

In 1950, land reform was accomplished in East Bengal with the abolishment of the feudal zamindari system. However, despite the economic and demographic weight of the east, Pakistan's government and military were largely dominated by the upper classes from the west. The Bengali Language Movement of 1952 was the first sign of friction between the two wings of Pakistan. Dissatisfaction with the central government over economic and cultural issues continued to rise through the next decade, during which the Awami League emerged as the political voice of the Bengali-speaking population. It agitated for

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autonomy in the 1960s, and in 1966, its president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was jailed; he was released in 1969 after an unprecedented popular uprising.

In 1970, a massive cyclone devastated the coast of East Pakistan, and the central government responded poorly. The Bengali population's anger was compounded when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who’s Awami League won a majority in Parliament in the 1970 elections, was blocked from taking office. After staging compromise talks with Mujib, President Yahya Khan arrested him on the early hours of March 26, 1971, and launched Operation Searchlight, a sustained military assault on East Pakistan. Yahya's methods were extremely bloody, and the violence of the war resulted in many civilian deaths. Chief targets included intellectuals and Hindus, and about ten million refugees fled to neighbouring India (LaPorte, p. 103). Estimates of those massacred throughout the war range from three hundred thousand to 3 million.

Most of the Awami League leaders fled and set up a government-in-exile in Calcutta, India. The Bangladesh Liberation War lasted for nine months. The guerrilla Mukti Bahini and Bengali regulars eventually received support from the Indian Armed Forces in December 1971. The Indian army, under the command of Lt. General J.S. Aurora, achieved a decisive victory over Pakistan on December 16, 1971, taking over 90,000 prisoners of war in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

After its independence, Bangladesh became a parliamentary democracy, with Mujib as the Prime Minister. In the 1973 parliamentary elections, the Awami League gained an absolute majority. A nationwide famine occurred during 1973 and 1974, and in early 1975, Mujib initiated a one-party socialist rule with his newly formed BAKSAL. On August 15, 1975, Mujib and his family were assassinated by mid-level military officers.

A series of bloody coups and counter-coups in the following three months culminated in the ascent to power of General Ziaur Rahman, who reinstated multi-party politics and founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Zia's rule ended when he was assassinated in 1981 by elements of the military. Bangladesh's next major ruler was General Hossain Mohammad Ershad, who gained power in a bloodless coup in 1982 and ruled until 1990, when he was forced to resign under western donor pressure in a major shift in international policy after the end of communism when anti-communist dictators were no longer felt necessary. Since then, Bangladesh has reverted to a parliamentary democracy. Zia's widow, Khaleda Zia, led the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to parliamentary victory at the general election in 1991 and became the first female Prime Minister in Bangladesh's history. However, the Awami League, headed by Sheikh Hasina, one of Mujib's surviving daughters, clinched power at the next election in 1996 but lost to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party again in 2001.

In January 11, 2007, following widespread violence, a caretaker government was appointed to administer the general election. The country had suffered from extensive corruption, disorder and political violence. The new caretaker government has made it a priority to root out corruption from all levels of government. To this end, many notable

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politicians and officials, along with large numbers of lesser officials and party members, have been arrested on corruption charges.

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS:

Bangladesh is a parliamentary democracy with Islam as the state religion. Direct elections involving all citizens over the age 18 are held every five years for the unicameral parliament known as Jatia Sangsad. The parliament building is known as the Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban designed by architect Louis Kahn and currently has 345 members including 45 reserved seats for women, elected from single-member constituencies. The Prime Minister, as the head of government, forms the cabinet and runs the day-to-day affairs of state. While the Prime Minister is formally appointed by the President, he or she must be an MP who commands the confidence of the majority of parliament. The President is the head of state, a largely ceremonial post elected by the parliament.

However the President's powers are substantially expanded during the tenure of a caretaker government, which is responsible for the conduct of elections and transfer of power. The officers of the caretaker government must be non-partisan and are given three months to complete their task. This transitional arrangement is an innovation that was pioneered by Bangladesh in its 1991 election and then institutionalized in 1996 through its 13th constitutional amendment.

The Constitution of Bangladesh was drafted in 1972 and has undergone fourteen amendments. The highest judicial body is the Supreme Court. Justices are appointed by the President. The judicial and law enforcement institutions are weak. Separation of powers, judicial from executive was finally implemented on the 1st of November, 2007. It is expected that this separation will make the judiciary stronger and impartial. Laws are loosely based on English common law, but family laws such as marriage and inheritance are based on religious scripts, and therefore differ between religious communities.

The two major parties in Bangladesh are the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Bangladesh Awami League. BNP is led by Khaleda Zia and finds its allies among Islamist parties like Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh and Islami Oikya Jot, while Sheikh Hasina's Awami League aligns with leftist and secularist parties. Hasina and Zia are bitter rivals who have dominated politics for 15 years; both are women and each is related to one of the leaders of the independence movement. Another important player is the Jatiya Party, headed by former military ruler Ershad. The Awami League-BNP rivalry has been bitter and punctuated by protests, violence and murder. Student politics is particularly strong in Bangladesh, a legacy from the liberation movement era. Almost all parties have highly active student wings, and students have been elected to the Parliament.Two radical Islamist parties, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) and Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), were banned in February 2005. Bomb attacks taking place since 1999 have been blamed on those groups, and hundreds of suspected members have been detained in numerous security operations, including the head of those two

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parties in 2006. The first recorded case of a suicide bomb attack in Bangladesh took place in November 2005.

Meanwhile the Bangladesh Military has expressed their interest in controlling the country with statements like "own brand of Democracy" and making changes in the constitution to allow military participation in politics. They are also assisting the interim Government of Bangladesh in a drive against corruption which seems to be mostly targeted against the politicians and opponents. The military has also imposed censorship of the national media and closing down/hampering private TV stations. Illegal detentions and torture to extract confessions have also become rampant.

FOREIGN POLICY & MILITARY:

Bangladesh pursues a moderate foreign policy that places heavy reliance on multinational diplomacy, especially at the United Nations. In 1974 Bangladesh joined both the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations and has since been elected to serve two terms on the Security Council in 1978-1979 and 2000–2001. In the 1980s, Bangladesh played a lead role in founding the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in order to expand relations with other South Asian states. Since the founding of SAARC 1985, a Bangladeshi has held the post of Secretary General on two occasions.

Bangladesh's most important and complex foreign relationships are with India and Pakistan. These relationships are informed by historical and cultural ties and form an important part of the domestic political discourse.

Bangladesh's relationship with India began on a positive note because of India's assistance in the independence war and reconstruction. Throughout the years, relations between both countries have fluctuated for a number of reasons. The Washington Post reported on a major source of tension between Bangladesh and India, the Farakka Dam. In 1975, India constructed a dam on the Ganges River 11 miles (18 km) from the Bangladeshi border. Bangladesh alleges that the dam diverts much needed water from Bangladesh and adds a man-made disaster to the country already plagued by natural disasters. The dam also has terrible ecological consequences. On the other hand, India has voiced concerns about anti-Indian separatists and Islamic militants allegedly being harbored across their 2,500-mile (4,000 km) border, as well as the flow of illegal migrants, and is building a fence along most of it. But at the 2007 SAARC meeting both nations pledged to work cooperatively on security, economic and border issues.

The current strength of the army is around 200,000, the air force 7,000,[citation needed] and navy 14,950.[34] In addition to traditional defense roles, the military has been called on to provide support to civil authorities for disaster relief and internal security during periods of political unrest. Bangladesh is not currently active in any ongoing war, but it did contribute 2,300 troops to the coalition that fought in the 1991 Gulf War and Bangladesh is consistently a top contributor to UN peacekeeping forces around the world.

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As of May 2007, Bangladesh had major deployments in Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Sudan, Timor-Leste and Côte d'Ivoire.

Bangladesh enjoys relatively warm ties with the People's Republic of China which has, particularly in the past decade, increased economic cooperation with the South Asian nation. Between 2006-07, trade between the two nations rose by 28.5% and there have been agreements to grant various Bangladeshi commodities tariff-free access to the Chinese market. Cooperation between the Military of Bangladesh and the People's Liberation Army is also increasing, with joint military agreements signed and Bangladesh procuring Chinese arms which range from small arms to large naval surface combatants such as the Chinese Type 053H1 Missile Frigate.

DIVISONS, DISTRICTS & UPZILAS:

Bangladesh is divided into six administrative divisions, each named after their respective divisional headquarters: Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, and Sylhet.

Divisions are subdivided into districts (zila). There are 64 districts in Bangladesh, each further subdivided into upazila (subdistricts) or thana ("police stations"). The area within each police station, except for those in metropolitan areas, is divided into several unions, with each union consisting of multiple villages. In the metropolitan areas, police stations are divided into wards, which are further divided into mahallas. There are no elected officials at the divisional, district or upazila levels, and the administration is composed only of government officials. Direct elections are held for each union (or ward), electing a chairperson and a number of members. In 1997, a parliamentary act was passed to reserve three seats (out of twelve) in every union for female candidates.

Dhaka is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. Other major cities include Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, and Barisal.These metropolitan cities have mayoral elections, while other municipalities elect a chairperson. Mayors and chairpersons are elected for a span of five years.

CITY CITY POPULATION METRO POPULATION

DHAKA 11,918,442 23,024,863

CHITTAGONG 6,920,222 11,256,369

KHULNA 3,400,689 8,492,659

RAJSHAHI 2,727,083 4,983,641

SYLHET 1,339,368 2,658,025

BARISAL 1,291,769 2,365,125

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GEOGRAPHY & CLIMATE:

Bangladesh is located in the low-lying Ganges-Brahmaputra River Delta or Ganges Delta. This delta is formed by the confluence of the Ganges (local name Padma or Pôdda), Brahmaputra (Jamuna or Jomuna), and Meghna rivers and their respective tributaries. The Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually empty into the Bay of Bengal. The alluvial soil deposited by these rivers has created some of the most fertile plains in the world. Bangladesh has 58 trans-boundary rivers, making water issues politically complicated to resolve - in most cases as the lower riparian state to India.

Most parts of Bangladesh are less than 12 meters (39 ft) above the sea level, and it is believed that about 50% of the land would be flooded if the sea level were to rise by a meter (3 ft).

The highest point in Bangladesh is in Mowdok range at 1,052 meters (3,451 ft) in the Chittagong Hill Tracts to the southeast of the country.[40] A major part of the coastline comprises a marshy jungle, the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world and home to diverse flora and fauna, including the Royal Bengal Tiger. In 1997, this region was declared endangered.

Straddling the Tropic of Cancer, Bangladeshi climate is tropical with a mild winter from October to March, a hot, humid summer from March to June. A warm and humid monsoon season lasts from June to October and supplies most of the country's rainfall. Natural calamities, such as floods, tropical cyclones, tornadoes, and tidal bores occur almost every year, combined with the effects of deforestation, soil degradation and erosion. Cox's Bazar, south of the city of Chittagong, has a beach that stretches uninterrupted over 120 kilometers (75 mi).

In September 1998 Bangladesh saw the most severe flooding in modern world history. As the Brahmaputra, Ganges and Meghna spilt over and swallowed 300,000 houses, 6,000 miles (9,700 km) of road and 1,600 miles (2,600 km) of embankment 1,000 people were killed and 30 million more were made homeless with 135,000 cattle killed, 50 square kilometers of land destroyed and 11,000 kilometers of roads damaged or destroyed. Two-thirds of the country was underwater. There were several reasons for the severity of the flooding. Firstly, there were unusually high monsoon rains. Secondly, the Himalayas shed off an equally unusually high amount of melt water that year. Trees that usually intercept rain water were cut down for firewood or to make space for animals.

ECONOMY:

Despite continuous domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains a developing nation. Its per capita income in

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2006 was US$1400 (adjusted by purchasing power parity) compared to the world average of $10,200.Jute was once the economic engine of the country. Its share of the world export market peaked in the Second World War and the late 1940s at 80% and even in the early 1970s accounted for 70% of its export earnings. However, polypropylene products began to substitute for jute products worldwide and the jute industry started to decline. Bangladesh grows very significant quantities of rice, tea and mustard. Although two-thirds of Bangladeshis are farmers, more than three quarters of Bangladesh’s export earnings come from the garment industry, which began attracting foreign investors in the 1980s due to cheap labor and low conversion cost. In 2002, the industry exported US$5 billion worth of products. The industry now employs more than 3 million workers, 90% of whom are women. A large part of foreign currency earnings also comes from the remittances sent by expatriates living in other countries.

Obstacles to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, mismanaged port facilities, a growth in the labor force that has outpaced jobs, inefficient use of energy resources (such as natural gas), insufficient power supplies, slow implementation of economic reforms, political infighting and corruption. According to the World Bank, "among Bangladesh’s most significant obstacles to growth are poor governance and weak public institutions."

Despite these hurdles, the country has achieved an average annual growth rate of 5% since 1990, according to the World Bank. Bangladesh has seen expansion of its middle class, and its consumer industry has also grown. In December 2005, four years after its report on the emerging "BRIC" economies (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), Goldman Sachs named Bangladesh one of the "Next Eleven, along with Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and seven other countries. Bangladesh has seen a dramatic increase in foreign direct investment. A number of multinational corporations and local big business houses such as Beximco, Square, Akij Group, Ispahani, Navana Group, Habib Group, KDS Group and multinationals such as Unocal Corporation and Chevron, have made major investments, with the natural gas sector being a priority. In December 2005, the Central Bank of Bangladesh projected GDP growth around 6.5%.

One significant contributor to the development of the economy has been the widespread propagation of micro credit by Muhammad Yunus (awarded the Nobel peace prize in 2006) through the Grameen Bank. By the late 1990s, Grameen Bank had 2.3 million members, along with 2.5 million members of other similar organizations.

In order to enhance economic growth, the government set up several export processing zones to attract foreign investment. These are managed by the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority.

The analysis can be performed on a product, on a service, a company or even on an individual.

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MOVES TOWARD A MARKET ECONMY:

Following the violent events of 1971 during the fight for independence, Bangladesh--with the help of large infusions of donor relief and development aid--slowly began to turn its attention to developing new industrial capacity and rehabilitating its economy. The static economic model adopted by its early leadership, however--including the nationalization of much of the industrial sector--resulted in inefficiency and economic stagnation. Beginning in late 1975, the government gradually gave greater scope to private sector participation in the economy, a pattern that has continued. A few state-owned enterprises have been privatized, but many, including major portions of the banking and jute sectors, remain under government control. Population growth, inefficiency in the public sector, resistance to developing the country's richest natural resources, and limited capital have all continued to restrict economic growth.

In the mid-1980s, there were encouraging, if halting, signs of progress. Economic policies aimed at encouraging private enterprise and investment, denationalizing public industries, reinstating budgetary discipline, and liberalizing the import regime were accelerated. From 1991 to 1993, the government successfully followed an enhanced structural adjustment facility (ESAF) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) but failed to follow through on reforms in large part because of preoccupation with the government's domestic political troubles. In the late 1990s the government's economic policies became more entrenched, and some of the early gains were lost, which was highlighted by a precipitous drop in foreign direct investment in 2000 and 2001. In June 2003 the IMF approved 3-year, $490-million plan as part of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) for Bangladesh that aimed to support the government's economic reform program up to 2006. Seventy million dollars was made available immediately. In the same vein the World Bank approved $536 million in interest-free loans.

Efforts to achieve Bangladesh's macroeconomic goals have been problematic. The privatization of public sector industries has proceeded at a slow pace--due in part to worker unrest in affected industries--although on June 30, 2002, the government took a bold step as it closed down the Adamjee Jute Mill, the country's largest and most costly state-owned enterprise. The government also has proven unable to resist demands for wage hikes in government-owned industries. Access to capital is impeded. State-owned banks, which control about three-fourths of deposits and loans, carry classified loan burdens of about 50%.

The IMF and World Bank predict GDP growth over the next 5 years will be about 6.0%, well short of the 8%-9% needed to lift Bangladesh out of its severe poverty. The initial impact of the end of quotas under the Multi-Fiber Arrangement has been positive for Bangladesh, with continuing investment in the ready-made garment sector, which has experienced annual export growth of around 20%. Downward price pressure means Bangladesh must continue to cut final delivered costs if it is to remain competitive in the world market. Foreign investors in a broad range of sectors are increasingly frustrated with the politics of confrontation, the level of corruption, and the slow pace of reform.

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While investors view favorably recent steps by the interim government to address corruption, governance, and infrastructure issues, most believe it is too early to assess the long-term impact of these developments.

AGRICULTURE:

Most Bangladeshis earn their living from agriculture. Although rice and jute are the primary crops, maize and vegetables are assuming greater importance. Due to the expansion of irrigation networks, some wheat producers have switched to cultivation of maize which is used mostly as poultry feed. Tea is grown in the northeast. Because of Bangladesh's fertile soil and normally ample water supply, rice can be grown and harvested three times a year in many areas. Due to a number of factors, Bangladesh's labor-intensive agriculture has achieved steady increases in food grain production despite the often unfavorable weather conditions. These include better flood control and irrigation, a generally more efficient use of fertilizers, and the establishment of better distribution and rural credit networks. With 28.8 million metric tons produced in 2005-2006 (July-June), rice is Bangladesh's principal crop. By comparison, wheat output in 2005-2006 was 9 million metric tons. Population pressure continues to place a severe burden on productive capacity, creating a food deficit, especially of wheat. Foreign assistance and commercial imports fill the gap. Underemployment remains a serious problem, and a growing concern for Bangladesh's agricultural sector will be its ability to absorb additional manpower. Finding alternative sources of employment will continue to be a daunting problem for future governments, particularly with the increasing numbers of landless peasants who already account for about half the rural labor force.

INDUSTRY AND INVESTMENT:

Fortunately for Bangladesh, many new jobs--1.8 million, mostly for women--have been created by the country's dynamic private ready-made garment industry, which grew at double-digit rates through most of the 1990s. The labor-intensive process of ship-breaking for scrap has developed to the point where it now meets most of Bangladesh's domestic steel needs. Other industries include sugar, tea, leather goods, newsprint, pharmaceutical, and fertilizer production. The country has done less well, however, in expanding its export base--garments account for more than three-fourths of all exports, dwarfing the country's historic cash crop, jute, along with leather, shrimp, pharmaceuticals, and ceramics.

Despite the country's politically motivated general strikes, poor infrastructure, and weak financial system, Bangladeshi entrepreneurs have shown themselves adept at competing in the global garments marketplace. Bangladesh exports significant amounts of garments and knitwear to the U.S. and the European Union (EU) market. As noted, the initial impact of the end of quotas on Bangladesh's ready-made garment industry has been positive. Downward price pressures, however, mean Bangladesh must continue to cut final delivered costs if it is to remain competitive in the world market.

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The Bangladesh Government continues to court foreign investment, something it did fairly well in the 1990s in private power generation and gas exploration and production, as well as in other sectors such as cellular telephony, textiles, and pharmaceuticals. In 1989, the same year it signed a bilateral investment treaty with the United States, it established a board of investment to simplify approval and start-up procedures for foreign investors, although in practice the board has done little to increase investment. Bangladesh also has established export processing zones in Chittagong (1983), Dhaka (1994), Comilla (2000), Mongla (2001), Iswardi (2005), Uttara (2006), and Karnafully (2007).

The most important reforms Bangladesh should make to be able to compete in a global economy are to privatize state-owned enterprises (SOEs), deregulate and promote foreign investment in high-potential industries like energy and telecommunications, and take decisive steps toward combating corruption and strengthening rule of law.

DEMOGRAPHICS:

Recent (2005-2007) estimates of Bangladesh's population range from 142 to 159 million, making it the 7th most populous nation in the world. With a land area of 144,000 square kilometers, ranked 94th, the population density is remarkable. A striking comparison is offered by the fact that Russia's population is slightly smaller even though Russia has a land area of 17.5 million square kilometers, at least 120 times bigger than Bangladesh. Bangladesh has the highest population density in the world, excluding a handful of city-states. Bangladesh's population growth was among the highest in the world in the 1960s and 1970s, when the count grew from 50 to 90 million, but with the promotion of birth control in the 1980s, the growth rate slowed. The total fertility rate is now 3.1 children per woman, compared with 6.2 thirty years ago.[citation needed] The population is relatively young, with the 0–25 age group comprising 60%, while 3% are 65 or older. Life expectancy is 63 years for both males and females.[53]

The majority ethnic group of Bangladesh is the Bengali people, comprising 98% of the population. The remainder are mostly Bihari migrants and indigenous tribal groups. There are thirteen tribal groups located in the Chittagong Hill Tracts; the most populous of the tribes are the Chakmas. The region has been a source for ethnic tension since the inception of Bangladesh. The largest tribal groups outside the Hill Tracts are the Santhals and the Garos (Achiks). There are also Kaibartta, Mundas, Oraons, and Zomi ethnic groups. Human trafficking has been a lingering problem in Bangladesh and illegal immigration has remained a cause of friction with Burma and India.

The official and most widely used language in Bangladesh, as in West Bengal, is Bangla or Bengali, an Indo-Aryan language of Sanskrit origin with its own script. English is used as second language among the middle and upper classes and in higher education. Since a President Order in 1987, Bangla is used for all official correspondence except those that are to foreign recipients.

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Health and education levels have recently improved as poverty levels have decreased. Most Bangladeshis are rural, living on subsistence farming. Health problems abound, ranging from surface water contamination, to arsenic contamination of groundwater, and diseases including malaria, leptospirosis and dengue. The literacy rate in Bangladesh is approximately 41%. There is gender disparity, though, as literacy rates are 50% among men and 31% among women, according to a 2004 UNICEF estimate. Literacy has gone up due to many programmes introduced in the country. Among the most successful ones are the Food for education (FFE) programme introduced in 1993, and a stipend programme for women at the primary and secondary levels.

The major religion practiced in Bangladesh is Islam (89.7%) and a sizable minority adheres to Hinduism (9.2%). About 96% of the Muslims are Sunni while over 3% are Shi'a and remainders are Ahmadis. Ethnic Biharis are predominantly Shia Muslims. Other religious groups include Buddhists (0.7%, mostly Theravada), Christians (0.3%, mostly of the Roman Catholic denomination), and Animists (0.1%). Among Muslim-majority countries, Bangladesh ranks fourth after Indonesia, Pakistan and India by the number of Muslims, with over 130 million. Islam is the state religion of Bangladesh, but other religions may also be practiced in harmony. The United Nations has recognized the country mainly as a moderate Muslim democratic country.

CULTURE:

A new state for an old nation, Bangladesh has a culture that encompasses elements both old and new. The Bengali language boasts a rich literary heritage, which Bangladesh shares with the Indian state of West Bengal. The earliest literary text in Bangla is the eighth century Charyapada. Bangla literature in the medieval age was often either religious (e.g. Chandidas), or adaptations from other languages (e.g. Alaol). Bangla literature matured in the nineteenth century. Its greatest icons are the poets Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam. Bangladesh also has a long tradition in folk literature, evidenced by Maimansingha Gitika, Thakurmar Jhuli or stories related to Gopal Bhar.

The musical tradition of Bangladesh is lyrics-based, with minimal instrumental accompaniment. The Baul tradition is a unique heritage of Bangla folk music, and there are numerous other musical traditions in Bangladesh, which vary from one region to the other. Gombhira, Bhatiali, Bhawaiya are a few of the better-known musical forms. Folk music of Bengal is often accompanied by the ektara, an instrument with only one string. Other instruments include the dotara, dhol, flute, and tabla. Bangladesh also has an active heritage in North Indian classical music. Similarly, Bangladeshi dance forms draw from folk traditions, especially those of the tribal groups, as well as the broader Indian dance tradition. Bangladesh produces about 80 films a year. Mainstream Hindi films are also quite popular. Around 200 dailies are published in Bangladesh, along with more than 1800 periodicals. However, regular readership is low, nearly about 15% of the population. Bangladeshis listen to a variety of local and national radio programmes from Bangladesh Betar, as well as Bangla services from the BBC and Voice of America. There

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is a state-controlled television channel, but in the last few years, privately owned channels have grown considerably.The culinary tradition of Bangladesh has close relations to Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine as well as having many unique traits. Rice and curry are traditional favourites. Bangladeshis make distinctive sweetmeats from milk products; some common ones are Rôshogolla, Chômchôm and Kalojam.

The sari (shaŗi) is by far the most widely worn dress by Bangladeshi women. Dhaka in particular is renowned for producing saris from exquisite Jamdani muslin. The salwar kameez (shaloar kamiz) is also quite popular, and in urban areas some women wear Western attire. Among men, Western attire is more widely adopted. Men also wear the kurta-paejama combination, often on religious occasions, and the lungi, a kind of long skirt.

The two Eids, Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha are the largest festivals in the Islamic calendar. The day before Eid ul-Fitr is called Chãd Rat (the night of the Moon), and is often marked by firecrackers. Other Muslim holidays are also observed. Major Hindu festivals are Durga Puja and Saraswati Puja. Buddha Purnima, which marks the birth of Gautama Buddha, is one of the most important Buddhist festivals while Christmas, called Bôŗodin (Great day) in Bangla is celebrated by the minority Christian population. The most important secular festival is Pohela Baishakh or Bengali New Year, the beginning of the Bengali calendar. Other festivities include Nobanno, Poush parbon (festival of Poush) and observance of national days like Shohid Dibosh.

SPORTS:

Cricket is the most popular sport in Bangladesh. In 2000, the Bangladeshi cricket team was granted Test cricket status and be able to play other test playing nations. Other popular sports include association football, field hockey, tennis, badminton, handball, volleyball, chess, carrom games, and kabadi ( a seven-a-side team-sport played without a ball or any other equipment, which is the national sport of Bangladesh). The Bangladesh Sports Control Board regulates twenty-nine different sporting federations.

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT

WHAT IS PROJECT MANAGEMENT:

The word project comes from the Latin word projectum from the Latin verb proicere, "to throw something forwards" which in turn comes from pro-, which denotes something that precedes the action of the next part of the word in time (paralleling the Greek πρό) and iacere, "to throw". The word "project" thus actually originally meant "something that comes before anything else happens".

When the English language initially adopted the word, it referred to a plan of something, not to the act of actually carrying this plan out. Something performed in accordance with a project became known as an "object".

Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives.

A project is a finite endeavor (having specific start and completion dates) undertaken to create a unique product or service which brings about beneficial change or added value. This finite characteristic of projects stands in sharp contrast to processes, or operations, which are permanent or semi-permanent functional work to repetitively produce the same product or service. In practice, the management of these two systems is often found to be quite different, and as such requires the development of distinct technical skills and the adoption of separate management philosophy.

The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals and objectives while honoring the project constraints. Typical constraints are scope, time and budget. The secondary—and more ambitious—challenge is to optimize the allocation and integration of inputs necessary to meet pre-defined objectives. A project is a carefully defined set of activities that use resources (money, people, materials, energy, space, provisions, communication, motivation, etc.) to achieve the project goals and objectives.

HISTORY OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT:

As a discipline, Project Management developed from different fields of application including construction, engineering and defense. In the United States, the forefather of project management is Henry Gantt, called the father of planning and control techniques, who is famously known for his use of the Gantt chart as a project management tool, for being an associate of Frederick Winslow Taylor's theories of scientific management, and for his study of the work and management of Navy ship building. His work is the forerunner to many modern project management tools including the work breakdown structure (WBS) and resource allocations.

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The 1950s marked the beginning of the modern Project Management era. Again, in the United States, prior to the 1950s, projects were managed on an ad hoc basis using mostly Gantt Charts, and informal techniques and tools. At that time, two mathematical project scheduling models were developed: (1) the "Program Evaluation and Review Technique" or PERT, developed by Booz-Allen & Hamilton as part of the United States Navy's (in conjunction with the Lockheed Corporation) Polaris missile submarine program;[2] and (2) the "Critical Path Method" (CPM) developed in a joint venture by both DuPont Corporation and Remington Rand Corporation for managing plant maintenance projects. These mathematical techniques quickly spread into many private enterprises.

At the same time, technology for project cost estimating, cost management, and engineering economics was evolving, with pioneering work by Hans Lang and others. In 1956, the American Association of Cost Engineers (now AACE International; the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering) was formed by early practitioners of project management and the associated specialties of planning and scheduling, cost estimating, and cost/schedule control (project control). AACE has continued its pioneering work and in 2006 released the first ever integrated process for portfolio, program and project management (Total Cost Management Framework).

In 1969, the Project Management Institute (PMI) was formed to serve the interests of the project management industry. The premise of PMI is that the tools and techniques of project management are common even among the widespread application of projects from the software industry to the construction industry. In 1981, the PMI Board of Directors authorized the development of what has become A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), containing the standards and guidelines of practice that are widely used throughout the profession.

The International Project Management Association (IPMA), founded in Europe in 1967, has undergone a similar development and instituted the IPMA Competence Baseline (ICB). The focus of the ICB also begins with knowledge as a foundation, and adds considerations about relevant experience, interpersonal skills, and competence. Both organizations are now participating in the development of an ISO project management standard.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT APPROACHES:

There are several approaches that can be taken to managing project activities including agile, interactive, incremental, and phased approaches.

Regardless of the approach employed, careful consideration needs to be given to clarify surrounding project objectives, goals, and importantly, the roles and responsibilities of all participants and stakeholders.

A traditional phased approach identifies a sequence of steps to be completed. In the "traditional approach", we can distinguish 5 components of a project (4 stages plus control) in the development of a project:

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Typical development phases of a project:

* Project initiation stage; * Project planning or design stage; * Project execution or production stage; * Project monitoring and controlling systems; * Project completion stage.

Not all the projects will visit every stage as projects can be terminated before they reach completion. Some projects probably don't have the planning and/or the monitoring. Some projects will go through steps 2, 3 and 4 multiple times.

Many industries utilize variations on these stages. For example, in bricks and mortar architectural design, projects typically progress through stages like Pre-Planning, Conceptual Design, Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Drawings (or Contract Documents), and Construction Administration. In software development, this approach is often known as "waterfall development", i.e., one series of tasks after another in linear sequence. In software development many organizations have adapted the Rational Unified Process (RUP) to fit this methodology, although RUP does not require or explicitly recommend this practice. Waterfall development can work for small tightly defined projects, but for larger projects of undefined or unknowable scope, it is less suited. The Cone of Uncertainty explains some of this as the planning made on the initial phase of the project suffers from a high degree of uncertainty. This becomes specially true as software development is often the realization of a new or novel product, this method has been widely accepted as ineffective for software projects where requirements are largely unknowable up front and susceptible to change. While the names may differ from industry to industry, the actual stages typically follow common steps to problem solving — "defining the problem, weighing options, choosing a path, implementation and evaluation."

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SWOT ANALSYIS

SWOT Analysis is a planning tool used to understand the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business. It involves specifying the objective of the business or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are supportive or unfavorable to achieving that objective. SWOT is often used as part of a strategic planning process. SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The analysis can be performed on a product, on a service, a company or even on an individual.

To do a SWOT analysis that is both effective and meaningful requires time and a significant resource. This cannot be done effectively by just one person. It requires a team effort. The methodology has the advantage of being used as a 'quick and dirty' tool or a comprehensive management too, and that one can lead to the other. This flexibility is one of the factors that have contributed to its success.

The term "SWOT ANALYSIS" is in itself an interesting term. Many believe the SWOT is not an analysis, but a summary of a set of previous analysis. The analysis or more correctly interpretation comes after the S W O T summary has been produced.

DEFINATION

A process generates information that is helpful in matching an organization or group’s goals, programs, and capacities to the social environment in which it operates.

STRENGTHS

Positive tangible and intangible attributes, internal to an organization. They are within the organization’s control.

WEAKNESS

Factors that are within an organization’s control that detracts from its ability to attain the desired goal.

Which areas might the organization improve?

OPPORTUNITIES

External attractive factors that represent the reason for an organization to exist and develop.

What opportunities exist in the environment, which will propel the organization? Identify them by their “time frames”.

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THREATS

External factors, beyond an organization’s control, which could place the organization mission or operation at risk.

The organization may benefit by having contingency plans to address them if they should occur.

Classify them by their “seriousness” and “probability of occurrence”.

BACKGROUND TO THE TOOL

The origins of the SWOT analysis technique is credited by Albert Humphrey, who led a research project at Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s using data from many top companies.

The goal was to identify why corporate planning failed. The resulting research identified a number of key areas and the tool used to explore each of the critical areas was called SOFT analysis. Humphrey and the original research team used the categories “What is good in the present is Satisfactory, good in the future is an Opportunity; bad in the present is a Fault and bad in the future is a Threat.” This was called the SOFT analysis. In 1964 Urick and Orr at a conference changed the F to a W, and it has stuck as that, soFt to sWot.

Some researchers reference the 1965 publication "business Policy, text and cases" by Learned, Christensen, Andrews and Guth (from Harvard University) in which a framework is used which closely resembles SWOT, however these words are not used and certainly the framework is not described as succinctly as we know it today. In this book the terms used are: Opportunities, risks, environment & problems of other industries. In fact these authors reference a course note from K R Andrews “a concept of corporate strategy” for much of the strategy framework.

The SWOT analysis tool is great for developing an understanding of an organization or situation and decision-making for all sorts of situations in business, organizations and for individuals. The SWOT analysis headings provide a good framework for reviewing strategy, position and direction of a company, product, project or person (career). Doing a SWOT analysis can be very simple, however its strengths lie in its flexibility and experienced application. Remember the capture is only part of the picture. The analysis can be performed on a product, on a service, a company or even on an individual.

APPLICATIONS

An analysis can be used for:

Workshop sessions Brainstorm meetings Problem solving Planning

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Product evaluation Competitor evaluation Personal Development Planning Decision Making (with force field analysis)

AIM OF SWOT ANALYSIS

Reveal your competitive advantages Analyze your prospects for sales, profitability and product development Prepare your company for problems Allow for the development of contingency plans

Done properly, SWOT will give you the BIG PICTURE of the MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS that influence SURVIVAL and PROSPERITY. As well as a PLAN to ACT ON.

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CHAPTER TWO

“STRENGTH”

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SCOPE FOR FRESH AND NEW PROJECT

To make new investment in Bangladesh and make it more attractive and competitive, Bangladesh Government has announced several incentives for the investors. These incentives are updated on a yearly basis and new incentives are also declared.

Bangladesh offers tax holiday facility and depreciation allowance facility to strengthen a newly established business. These facilities are subjected to some conditions and provided by the Board of Investment. For some special purposes Income Tax and other taxes like Value Added Tax (VAT) have been exempted. Cash incentives are declared for the thrust sectors. Foreign investors can start 100% owned new companies or they can go for joint ventures. There is a very state forward procedure to exit from the business. The procedure of remittance of profits, dividends, sale proceeds, capital gains from portfolio investment, principal and interest of loans, technical fees, royalties against technical assistance/royalty agreements and savings is very comfortable and no prior permission is needed from Bangladesh Bank for those purposes. The issue of double taxation has been well taken care off through some treaties.

Bangladesh offers citizenship, permanent resident-ship and multiple entry visas for the foreign investors.

Tax holiday Facility (THF):Incentive: * 5 years: For industries located in Dhaka and Chittagong Divisions ( excluding 3 Hill Tract districts of Chittagong Division). * 7 years: For industries located in Khulna, Sylhet, Barisal, and Rajshahi, Divisions and the 3 Chittagong hill districts. * NBR issues tax holiday certificate within 90 days of submission of applacation.

Depreciation Allowance:Incentive:Accelerated Depreciation Allowance: Only New Industrial undertakings will enjoy accelerated depreciation allowance in lieu of tax holiday as per following schedule:

* Industrial undertaking set up in the areas falling within the cities of Dhaka, Narayangonj, Chittagong and Khulna and areas within a radius of 10 miles from the municipal limits of those cities: @ 100% on the cost of a machinery for the first year only. * Industrial undertaking set up elsewhere in the country: @ 80% on the cost of machinery in the first year and @ 20% in the second year.

Duty Exemption and Concessions on Machinery:Incentive: * For 100% export oriented industry, no import duty is charged in case of capital machinery and spares up to 10% value of such capital machinery.

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* For other industry, import duty, 2 7.5% ad valorem, is payable on capital machinery and spares imported for initial installation or BMR/BMRE of the existing industries. The value of spare parts should not, however, exceed 10% of the total C&F value of the machinery. * Value Added Tax (VAT) is not payable for imported capital machinery and spares. * Import duty @ 7.5% is secured in the form of bank guarantee or an indemnity bond is returned after installation of the machinery.

Avoidance of Double Taxation:Incentive: * For Foreign Investors, double taxation can be avoided on the basis of Bilateral Double Taxation Avoidance Treaties (DTTs). * Exemption of income tax up to 3 years fro the expatriate employees in industries specified in the relevant schedule of Income Tax ordinance.

Remittance:Incentive: * For Foreign Investors, remittance of royalty, technical know-how, technical assistance fee.

Repatriation:Incentive: * For Foreign Investors, full repatriation of invested capital, profit and dividend is allowed.

Exit:Incentive: * Foreign Investors can wind up on investment either through a decision of the AGM or EGM.

Ownership:Incentive: * Foreign Investors can set up ventures either wholly owned or in joint collaboration with local partner.

Incentives to Non Resident Bangladeshi (NRBs):Incentive: * Investment of NRBs is treated at par with FDI and enjoys facilities similar to those of foreign investors. * NRBs can buy newly issued shares/debentures of Bangladeshi companies. * A quota of 10% has been fixed for NRBs in primary public shares. * They can maintain foreign currency deposits in the Non-resident Foreign Currency Deposit (NRFD) account. * On fulfillment of certain conditions “Important Non0Resident Bangladeshi (INRB)” is selected.

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Other Incentives: Tax exemption on royalties, technical know-how fees received by any foreign

collaborator, firm, company and expert. Tax exemption on the interest on foreign loan under certain conditions. Exemption of income tax up to 3 years for the foreign technicians employed in

industries specified in the relevant schedule of the income tax ordinance. Tax exemption on income of the private sector power generation company for 15

years from the date of commercial production. Multiple entry visa facility for the prospective new investors. Re-investment of repatriable dividend treated as new investment. Citizenship by investing a minimum of US$ 500,000 or by transferring US$

1,000,000 to any recognized financial institution (non-repartriable). Permanent resident ship by investing a minimum of US$ 75,000 (non-

repartriable). Tax exemption on the capital gain from the transfer of shares of public limited

companies listed with a stock exchange. There is no discrimination in case of duties and taxes for the same type of

industries set up by foreign and local investors and in the public and private sectors.

Incentives to Export-Oriented and Export-Linkage Industries:Export-oriented industrialization is one of the major objectives of the Industrial Policy 1999. Export-oriented industries are given priority and public policy supports are ensured in this respect. An industry exporting at least 80% of its manufactured goods or an industry contributing at least 80% of its products as an input to finished exportable, and similarly, a business entity exporting at least 80% of its services including technology related products are considered as an export-oriented industry. To make investment in 100% export-oriented industries attractive, the following incentives and facilities will be provided:

Duty free import of capital machinery and spare parts up to 10% of the value of such capital machinery

Bonded warehouse and back to back letter of credit facility. Duty drawback facility. Providing loans up to 90% of the value against irrevocable and confirmed letter of

credit/sales agreement. Supporting backward linkage “deemed exporters”. The export oriented industries, further to the provisions of Bangladesh Bank

foreign exchange regulations, are entitled to receive additional foreign exchange, on case to case basis, for publicity campaign, opening overseas offices and participating in international trade fairs.

The entire export earning from handicraft and cottage industries are exempted from income tax. For all other industries, income tax rebate on export earning are given.

The facility for importing new materials including in the banned/restricted list, but required in the manufacture of exportable commodities.

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The import of specified quantities of duty-free samples for manufacturing exportable products is allowed consistent with the prevailing relevant government policy.

The local products supplied to local industries or projects against foreign exchange L/C are treated as indirect exports and are entitled to all export facilities.

The export Credit Guarantee Scheme facility. 10% products of the enterprises, located in both public and private EPZs are

allowed to be exported to domestic tariff area against foreign currency L/C on payment of applicable duties and taxes.

100% export-oriented industry outside EPZ is allowed to sell 20% of their products in the domestic market on payment of applicable duties and taxes.

The export-oriented industries which are identified by the Government as “Thrust Sector” are provided special facilities and venture capital support.

Export-oriented industries are exempt from paying local taxes such as municipal tax.

Apart from the above mentioned facilities, other facilities announced and provided in the Export Policy is applicable to export oriented and export linkage industries.BOI Counseling service at Investment Facilities and Service Section provides all necessary assistance with regard to the above incentives.

Additional Incentives for EPZ Industries: Freedom from National Import Policy restrictions Offshore banking facilities Relocation of existing industries from abroad Back to back letter of credit facility for certain types of industries for import of

raw materials. Availability of food stuff and beverage on payment of nominal tax for foreigners

working in EPZ Exemption of customs duties and sales tax on imported motor vehicles for

executive of enterprises. One stop service to investors. All customs formalities, within EPZs. Additional Incentives for Small and Cottage Industries BSCIC registered units are

exempt from payment of advance income tax on import of their raw materials.

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AVAILIBILITY OF MANPOWER IN BANGLADESH

Unemployed labor force of Bangladesh is estimated to be about 15 million. Beside a huge number of un-skilled labor force, skilled, semi-skilled and professional manpower is also available for foreign employment. Some relevant data in this regard are given below:-

(A) Technical Manpower:Skilled workers and technicians play a key role in all sectors of the economy. To produce skilled technicians there are mid-level technical and vocational training systems in the country. Mid level technical education is provided after tenth year of schooling. Polytechnic sub-system offers well organized 3 year's diploma courses in engineering and technology. There are twenty one Polytechnic Institutes in the country with annual intake capacity of 5268 students. Besides Polytechnics, there are a number of agricultural and allied industrial, textile and leather technology institutes and commercial institutes and other specialized polytechnic institutes offering diploma level course in their respective fields.

There is an Islamic Institute of Technology IIT (formerly Islamic Center for Technical & Vocational Training & Research, ICTVTR), a subsidiary organ of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). The Center has been mandated to help develop the vast human resources of the member states and provide technical training of international standard needed for the industrial, economic and social development of Muslim Ummah through offering of long regular courses in engineering and technologies and trades and organizing short and special knowledge and skill updating courses along with technological and industrial research and research in the field of human resources development with particular emphasis on technical and vocational education. In IIT a great variety of academic and training programs are offered starting from the lowest trade Level to the highest Post Graduate Diploma and Master's Degree in Technical Education encompassing Certificates and Diploma in Vocational Education, Diploma a B.Sc. in Technical Education, Higher Diploma and B.Sc. Engineering Degree in Electrical and Electronic and Mechanical Engineering with various specialization in different rare technologist, such as Computer Science and Technology, Power System, CAD/CAM, Energy, Production and instrumentation Engineering.

There are 51 Vocational Training Institutes (VTI's) and 13 Technical Training Centers (IIC's) and 1 Bangladesh Institute of Marine Technology (BIMT) which cater to the training needs for craftsmen in the basic trades. Diploma in Marine Technology is also offered from BIMT. The Marine Academy at Juldia, Chittagong turn out certificated officers for merchant navy. 13 TTC's and 1 BIMT produce annually about 7,000 highly skilled technicians on different trades, suitable for overseas employment. Tele Communication Engineers and Technicians tradesmen skilled in basic engineering and building trades like electricians, petrol/diesel mechanics, air conditioning mechanics, radio/TV mechanics, fabricators, marine mechanist, molders, tatters, plumbers, pipe fitters, painters, steel fixtures, carpenters, masons, garments workers, draftsmen, etc. are available for employment. Testing facilities on different occupations are available in the modern Technical Training Centers both in public & sectors.

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(B) Medical Manpower:Bangladesh has facilities for imparting graduate and post-graduate medical education and training in the country. Facilities exist in the country for turning out 2500 medical graduates and 200 dental surgeons every year. More than 5000 General Physicians (graduates) are now available for employment abroad. A good number of specialized consultants/ physicians are also available for overseas employment. Facilities to train Blood Bank Technicians, Radio Therapist, x-ray technicians, Radiographers, compound, Dressers, Dental Technicians, Health Assistant, Sanitary Inspectors, etc. also exist in the country. Bangladesh has about 47000 paramedics and medical personnel available for employment at home and abroad. There are also 38 Nursing Training Institutes which offer 4 years Diploma course (including one year Midwifery) in other countries with excellent professional reputation. At present 8500 Diploma and 800 Graduate nurses are available for foreign employment.

(C) Engineering Manpower:Engineering Institutes (2 University of Engineering & Technology, 4 Bangladesh Institute of Technology, 4 Engineering College and 1 Marine Academy) produce about 1000 Graduate Engineers annually. In addition 21 Polytechnic Institutes in the country produce about 3000 Diploma Engineers annually. At Present about 1000 Engineers and 25000 Technicians are available for employment at home and abroad.

(D) Industrial Manpower:The country's industries employ about 1.5 million workers of different categories. Professional, managerial, administrative, technical, skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers including experienced garments workers, both male and female with several years of experience in different industrial fields are available for overseas employment.

(E) Computer Personnel:Bangladesh has now a large number of Computer Operators, Computer Engineers (both Hardware and Software), Programmers, Web Page Developer, Networking Specialist, System Analyst, etc. available for overseas employment.

(F) Power Station, Petroleum and Fertilizer Manpower:Bangladesh has vast reservoir of professional, highly skilled and skilled manpower in electricity/power, petroleum and fertilizer sectors.

(G) Road Transport Workers:Professional, technical and skilled personnel experienced in operation, repair and maintenance of all categories of vehicles including trucks and heavy vehicle equipment's are available for employment.

(H) Manpower for Financial Institutions, Insurance, Audit and Accounts:Bangladesh has a network of commercial Bank and Financial Institutions covering even the remotest areas of the country. Persons experienced in central banking operations are also available in Bangladesh. Normally University Graduates are recruited for supervisory and managerial positions in the banking institutions and they are trained

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through a scheme for training for bankers. In addition, the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management provides higher training of international standard to in-service banking personnel. Similarly, Chartered Accountants Cost Management Accounts, Actuaries, and persons with long experience in Insurance business, Government and Commercial Audit and Accounting are available in the Country, and they can be spared for service abroad.

(I) Port and Water Transport Workers:Personas of all categories needed for administration and operation of port facilities are available. These include inland Masters, Engine Drivers, Oil Men, Pre-sea Trained Nautical Cadres, Stevedores, Tally Clears, Crane Operators, Fort Lift Operators, Riggers, Security Personnel, Management Personnel and other categories of Personnel. They have international level of efficiency to the credit.

(J)Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Livestock, Horticulture, Technical Experts and Farmers:There are two Agricultural Universities and 10 Agricultural College and several training institutes in the country offering degrees, diplomas and certificates of education and training in agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, fisheries, livestock, horticulture and related fields. Experts with Bachelor's Master's and Ph.D. degrees and technicians with several years' experience in agricultural development, livestock, fisheries, forestry horticulture development and research activities are available in the country, in addition skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled shepherds with sufficient experience are also available for foreign employment.

(K) Hotel Management and Catering Staff:A large number of Bangladeshi hotel personnel are working in various reputed hotels abroad, mainly in the Middle Eastern countries. The Hotel Management Training Institute run by Bangladesh Tourism Corporation turns out a good number of trained hotel personnel every year. All categories of trained hotel staff experience or working in five star hotels can be provided for the departments of food and beverage, house keeping, front office, accounts and engineering.

(L)Marine Crew:Bangladesh has a large number of qualified and experienced Ship/Cargo/Vessel Crew possessing Continuous Discharge Certificates (C.D.C.) Crew can be provided from Bangladesh at short notice. Certificated merchant navy officers are also available for overseas employment.

(M) Miscellaneous Manpower:Qualified photographers, printers, printing technicians, journalists, translators, musical entertainers, operators, tailors, sewing men, barbers, shoe makers, domestic servants, house keepers, cleaners and all types of semi skilled an unskilled workers are available for employment abroad. Besides, Bangladesh has a huge numbers of manual workers to do heavy and difficult jobs like agricultural work, plantation, timber extraction, pottering and excavation work, etc.

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EXPORT PROCESSING ZONE

In order to stimulate rapid economic growth of the country, particularly through industrialization, the government has adopted an 'Open Door Policy' to attract foreign investment to Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) is the official organ of the government to promote, attract and facilitate foreign investment in the Export Processing Zones. The objectives of EPZ are to provide special areas where potential investors would find a congenial investment climate, free from cumbersome procedures.

Investment

Eligible Investors: Type-A: 100% foreign owned including Bangladesh nationals ordinarily

resident abroad Type-B: Joint venture between foreign and Bangladesh entrepreneurs resident

in Bangladesh Type-C: 100% Bangladesh entrepreneurs resident in Bangladesh

Mode of Investment: Investment in convertible foreign currencies by foreign investors. Option to establish public/private Ltd companies or sole

proprietorship/partnership concerns.

Investment Guarantee: Foreign Private Investment (Promotion and Projection) Act 1980 Overseas Private Investment Corporation, USA (OPIC) Multi-national Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) International Center for the Settlement of Investment Dispute (ICSID)

Service:One Window Same Day Service and Simplified Procedure

Sanctions projects generally within one week Issues required Import/Export Permits Issues required Work Permits for foreign nationals working in EPZ enterprises Provides required infrastructure facilities in EPZ Offers 'One Window Same Day Service' to investors in EPZ

Labor

Production Oriented Labor Laws: Law forbids formation of any labor union in EPZ BEPZA is vested with responsibility to administer labor matters for all

enterprises in EPZ

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Minimum Wages (Monthly): Apprentices/Trainee: US$ 22.00 Unskilled: US$ 22.00 Semi-skilled: US$ 22.00 Skilled: US$ 22.00 Other benefits include Conveyance Allowance, House Rent, Medical Allowance

and Festival Bonus

Working Hours: In Factory: 48 hours in a week (5 working days) In Office: 40 hours in a week (5 working days)

Employees leave: Casual Leave: 10 days Annual Leave: 17 days

Brief information on the EPZs of Bangladesh:

Chittagong Export Processing Zone (EPZ-CTG)

Location: South Halishahar, Chittagong2.40 kms from Chittagong Sea Port5.63 kms from the main business center of Chittagong7.24 kms from the Chittagong International Airport

Area: 183.37 hectares (453 acres)

Plots: Number of Industrial Plots: 428Size of each port: 2000 m2Tariff: US $ 2.00 /m2 /year

Standard Factory Building: Space: 56368.34 m2Tariff: US $ 2.50/m2/month

Warehouse: Space: 2251 m2Tariff: US $ 2.50 / m2 / month.

Utility Services: Water Supply: From Chittagong WASA.Storage Capacity: 7.26 million liters / day.Tariff: Tk. 17.71 / cm.Gas Supply: From Bakhrabad Gas System Ltd.Tariff Tk. 5.43 / cm.Power Supply: 11 kv, 3 phase, 50 cycles / sec.Tariffs: 3.98 / kWh.

Dhaka Export Processing Zone (EPZ-DAK)

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Location: Savar, Dhaka. 35 kms from Dhaka city centre25 kms from Zia International Airport

Area: 143.84 hectares (355.34 acres)

Plots: Number of industrial plots: 372Size of each plot: 2000 m2Tariff: US $ 2.00 / m2 /year

Standard Factory Building: Space: 76000 m2Tariff: US $ 2.50 /m2 /month

Warehouse: Space: 2356 m2Tariff: US $ 2.50 /m2 /month

Utility Services Water Supply: Own water supply systemTariff: Tk. 17.71 / cmGas Supply: From Titas Gas FieldTariff Tk. 5.43 / cmPower Supply: 11 kv, 3 phase, 50 cycles / secTariff: Tk. 4.18 / kWh

Mongla Export Processing Zone (EPZ-MON)

Location: Mongla port area, Bagerhat 105 kms from Jessore Airport and350 kms from Chittagong port

Area: 186.21 hectares (460 acres)

Plots: Number of industrial plots: 162 (first phase)Size of each plot: 2000 m2Tariff: US $ 1.00 / m2 / year

Standard Factory Building: Space: 18000 m2Tariff: US $ 1.25 / m2 / month

Utility Services: Water Supply: Sweet water from Public Health Engineering Department and own supply networkTariff: Tk. 17.71 / cmGas Supply: From Shahbajpur Gas Field (proposed)Tariff: Tk. 5.43 / cmPower Supply: 11 kV, 3 phases, 50 cycles/secTariff: Tk. 4.18 / kWh

Ishwardi Export Processing Zone (EPZ-ISD)

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Location: Pakshl, Pabna10.6 kms from Ishwardi Airport150 kms from Jamuna Bridge285 kms form Dhaka250 kms from Mongla port110 kms from Rajshahi AirportAnd 560 kms from Chittagong port

Area: 125.07 hectares (308.97 acres)

Plots: Number of industrial plots: 166 (first phase)Size of each plot: 2000 m2Tariff: US $ 1.00 / m2 / year

Standard Factory Building: Space: 18000 m2Tariff: US $ 1.25 / m2 / month

Utility Services: Water Supply: Own supply network.Tariff: Tk. 17.71 / cm.Gas Supply: From Gas Transmission Company Ltd. (Western Zone Project, Proposed)Tariff: Tk. 5.43 / cmPower Supply: 11 kV, 3 phase, 50 cycles / secTariff: Tk. 4.18 / kWh

Comilla Export Processing Zone (EPZ-COM)

Location: Comilla old Airport area170 kms from Chittagong port97 kms from Dhaka

Area: 108.26 hectares (267.46 acres)Plots: Number of industrial plots: 208 (first phase)

Size of each plot: 2000 m2Tariff: US $ 2.00 / m2 / year

Standard Factory Building: Space: 27000 m2Tariff: US $ 2.50 / m2 /month

Utility Services: Water Supply: Own water supply systemTariff: Tk. 17.71 / cmGas Supply: From Bakhrabad Gas system LtdTariff: Tk. 5.43 / cmPower Supply: 11 kv, 3 phase, 50 cycles / secTariff: Tk. 4.18 / kWh

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Uttara Export Processing Zone (EPZ-UTR)

Location: Shongalshi, Nilphamari18 kms from Syedpur Airport360 kms from Dhaka460 kms from Chittagong Port

Area: 107.18 hectares (264.99 acres)

Plots: Number of industrial plots: 221 (first phase)Size of each plot: 2000 m2Tariff: US $ 1.00 / m2 / year

Standard Factory Building: Space: 18000 m2Tariff: US $ 1.25 /m2 /month

Utility Services: Water Supply: Own water supply system.Tariff: Tk. 17.71 / cm.Gas Supply: From Gas Transmission Company Ltd. (Western Zone Project, Proposed)Tariff: Tk. 5.43 / cmPower Supply: 11 kV, 3 phase, 50 cycles / secTariff: Tk. 4.18 / kWh

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URGE FOR DEMOCRACY

The people of the sovereign always support the elected system which refers the parliamentary system and democracy. The people of Bangladesh always prefer and expect the democratic government which should come into power with due process of constitution after holding a credible election as per the constitutional mandate not in any other way.

The political climate of the country has been changing from the independence of Bangladesh. It got the independence from Pakistan in 1971 to protect and preserve the rights and freedom of its population which was on threat in Pakistan regime. In 1974 it becomes the member of United Nations and from that it is committed to uphold the UDHR and secure the rights of its citizens. The country has a long history of military rule in various unexpected occasions but all these evident strongly proved strong desire of the citizens towards democratic process with due course of law. But the people of the sovereign always support the elected system which refers the parliamentary system and democracy. The people of Bangladesh always prefer and expect the democratic government which should come into power with due process of constitution after holding a credible election as per the constitutional mandate not in any other way. All classes of citizens desire that they should be governed by a government, which shall come with a general election and with the popularity of majority voters of Bangladesh, and they never expect any kinds of autonomous or non-elected authority in the name of Government.

The people should demonstrate for securing the constitution and the sovereignty as well as the interest of citizens with the help of a positive response of international communities.

URGE FOR DEVELOPMENT

On many counts, Bangladesh’s performance has been better than the initial anticipations after the country’s political independence. The predominant theme at the time was one of negative images. The account of progress achieved by the country, however, shows rapid improvements in many indicators.

First, Bangladesh has achieved impressive success in the area of population control. Total fertility rate (TFR) declined from 6.3 in 1975 to 3.3 in 1997-99. Accordingly, the population growth rate has come down from 2.9 per cent per annum in the mid-seventies to 1.5 per cent in the late-nineties. The remarkable feature of this rapid decline was that it had been achieved not only at a low level of income but also at a low level of literacy.

Second, mortality is often considered as the criterion for judging economic success and failure of nations. Bangladesh has displayed considerable success in this respect, especially in reducing infant and child mortality. The infant mortality rate also declined from 153 deaths per thousand live births in 1975 to 94 deaths in 1990, dropping further to

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66 in 2000. The pace of progress in infant and under-five mortality reduction during the nineties was among the fastest in the developing world.

Third, Bangladesh witnessed significant success in disaster preparedness and in overcoming the phenomena of mass starvation and the threat of famine syndrome in the backdrop of endemic vulnerability to natural disasters. At the aggregate level, the country has achieved the desirable objective of near self-sufficiency in rice production with a declining cultivated area. The production of cereals increased at a trend growth rate of 2.4 per cent per year between the early eighties and the late nineties. This was mainly achieved through the expansion of rice areas under high-yielding varieties (HYVs).

Fourth, Bangladesh has made impressive gains in reducing child malnutrition rates during the last 15 years. According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data, the rate of stunting for children in the age group of 6-71 months which was 69 per cent in 1985/86 dropped to 49 per cent in 2000. The proportion of underweight children has gone down from 72 per cent in 1985/86 to 51 per cent in 2000. The Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data available for the second half of the nineties show a faster decline. The rate of stunting for the age group of 0-59 months has gone down from 55 to 45 per cent during 1996-2000 and, that for underweight, from 56 to 48 per cent during the same period.

Fifth, Bangladesh has achieved considerable success in mainstreaming women into the development process. Bangladeshi women have played an important role in the success of micro-credit, ready-made garment exports, reducing population growth, increasing child nutrition, and in the spread of primary education. The country has achieved gender parity in primary education and nearly removed gender gap in secondary education.

Sixth, low-income countries are typically marked not only by ‘weak’ state, but also weak civic and grass-roots movements and activism. Bangladesh was an instructive outlier in this regard. The advances made by the NGOs and CSOs as alternative delivery mechanisms as well as vocal civic institutions have played a significant role in the reversal of fortunes. The emergence of these actors played a partially compensatory role in the backdrop of weak state and market institutions. Social entrepreneurialism through catalyzing the developmental roles of the organizations of the poor such as community based organizations (CBOs) and organizations for the poor (NGOs and CSOs) has been an important strategic element in the poverty reduction strategy. These social enterprises will continue to play an important role in developing a pro-poor development agenda in Bangladesh.

Seventh, Bangladesh has achieved significant progress towards a viable democratic transition. Ensuring free and fair elections through non-partisan caretaker government has been a noteworthy political innovation in the backdrop of weak democratic institutions in the country. There have also been important gains in terms of increased political and electoral participation of women, enhanced press freedom, and increasingly active civic movements. Although the process of democratization is yet to take deeper roots, the success achieved so far was not inconsequential prompting many observers to term Bangladesh’s experience as a role model of “moderate Muslim democracy”.

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EXISTENCE OF INDUSTRIAL BASE AT THE TIME OF LIBERATION

After the partition of Bengal in 1947, East Pakistan inherited a very small share of the industries of Bengal. East Pakistan got none of the 108 jute mills, 18 iron and steel mills and 16 paper mills of Bengal. Only 90 of Bengal's 389 cotton mills, 10 of its 166 sugar mills, and 3 of its 19 cement factories fell in the territory of East Pakistan. The cement factory at chhatak (sylhet) had to depend upon limestone supplied from Assam (India). The cotton mills of East Pakistan also had to depend upon imported raw materials. The 1951 Census revealed that East Pakistan had 63,234 unskilled non-agricultural laborers, 115,480 skilled laborers engaged in manufacturing sector, 184,535 mining and quarry workers and 121,522 professional persons. The manufacturing sector (comprising mainly the food, drink and tobacco processing units) employed a total of 602,875 persons (4.67% of the total labor force), of whom 430,148 were involved directly in production processes and 172,727 in subsidiary activities. There were a total of 360,603 cottage enterprises, which employed 949,074 persons. Of the manufacturing units, only about 200 enterprises used power.

The industrial development policy of the government of Pakistan encouraged the manufacture of arms and ammunition, hydroelectric power, railway wagons, and telephone, telegraph and wireless reserved for the state and encouraged the private sectors to come up with industrial ventures in all other sectors. Twenty-four industries including jute, textiles, silk and rayon were subjected to central planning. The government created the Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) and Pakistan Industrial Finance Corporation to promote industrialization. PIDC made significant contributions in the establishment of industrial units in sectors such as jute, paperboard, cement, fertilizer, sugar, chemicals, textile, pharmaceuticals, light engineering and shipbuilding. The central government, however, followed a discriminatory policy. It favored West Pakistan in industrial development and drained resources from East Pakistan for the purpose. It also directed most of Pakistan's external resources to the cause of the industrial development of West Pakistan. Non-Bengalis dominated the list of entrepreneurs coming up with new industrial ventures in East Pakistan.

Despite all these impositions, however, some progress was made in industrialization in East Pakistan during the period between 1950 and 1970. The number of industrial enterprises in East Pakistan in different sectors in 1970 were: food manufacturing - 408, beverage - 6, tobacco processing - 26, textile - 792, footwear - 204, wood and cork - 14, furniture - 70, paper products - 33, printing and publishing - 14, chemical products - 572, petroleum and coal products - 3, rubber products - 3, mineral products - 53, basic metal - 35, metal products - 257, non electric machinery - 88, electrical machinery - 34, transport equipment - 65 and other goods - 166. Official sources of the government, however, recorded that in 1970, there were 1,580 manufacturing units in East Pakistan that employed 206,058 persons. Their gross output was valued at Tk 3.636 billion and the value added amounted to Tk 1,708 billion. The share of the manufacturing sector in the GDP was 8.9% in 1970 as compared to 3.9% in 1950.

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READYMADE GARMENTS SECTOR OF BANGLADESH

The RMG business started in Bangladesh in the 70s but it was then merely a casual effort. The first consignment of knitwear export was made in 1973 and the first consignment of woven garments was made in 1977. Though started later, but it was the woven sector that first dint a spot in the export pie of Bangladesh. In 1981-82 the contribution of woven garments in the total export was 1.10%. Afterwards it is a story of sustained success for the Bangladesh RMG sector. Within a decade the contribution of woven to the export basket became 42.83% (1990-91) and the knitwear sector's contribution was 7.64% (1990-91).

The entrepreneurs of the knit sector stepped forward with their expertise in the late 80's. With their earnest efforts they were able to export US$ 14.84 million in 1989-90. Out of this US$ 12.22 million was exported to EU and US$ 2.02 million was exported to US. The trend continued in the knit sector because of the market access opportunity provided to the LDCs under the Generalized Systems of Preference (GSP) benefit.

This is the rejuvenated beginning of the epic story of Bangladeshi knitwear sector RMG sector that in true sense has been able to massive industrialization in a sustainable way with effect on all probable human development aspects which is the encouraging part of the story.

The growth of knitwear sector is increasing at an increasing rate. The cumulative average growth rate of the sector is 27%. And it is continuously grabbing a more portion in the export pie of Bangladesh. This is mainly attributed to the facilities provided under the EC

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GSP and ROO. The knitwear sector is heavily driven by these favorable policies and took the opportunity to develop a strong backward linkage for the sector.

Comparative Statistics of Knitwear and Woven Wear (Volume in Million US $):

Year Knitwear Woven Wear Total Export

Volume (%)Change

Share% in BD Export

Volume (%)Change

Share% in BD Export

RMG Bangladesh

89-90 14.84 0 0.77 609.32 29.34 31.67 624.16 1923.70

90-91 131.20 784.00 7.64 735.62 20.73 42.83 866.82 1717.55

91-92 118.57 -9.62 5.95 1064.00 44.64 53.36 1182.57 1993.90

92-93 204.55 72.51 8.58 1240.48 16.59 52.06 1445.03 2382.89

93-94 264.14 29.13 10.42 1291.64 4.12 50.97 1555.78 2533.90

94-95 393.26 48.88 11.32 1835.09 42.07 52.85 2228.35 3472.56

95-96 598.32 52.14 15.41 1948.81 6.20 50.20 2547.13 3882.42

96-97 763.30 27.57 17.28 2237.95 14.84 50.65 3001.25 4418.28

97-98 940.31 23.19 18.22 2843.33 27.05 55.09 3783.64 5161.20

98-99 1035.36 10.11 19.49 1984.81 4.98 56.18 4020.17 5312.86

99-00 1269.83 22.64 22.08 3082.56 3.27 53.59 4352.39 5752.20

00-01 1496.23 17.83 23.14 3364.20 9.14 52.20 4583.80 6467.30

01-02 1459.24 -2.48 24.38 3124.56 -7.12 52.20 4583.80 5986.09

02-03 1653.83 13.34 25.26 3258.27 4.28 49.76 4912.10 6548.44

03-04 2148.02 29.88 28.25 3538.07 8.59 46.54 5686.09 7602.99

04-05 2819.47 31.26 32.58 3598.20 1.70 41.58 6417.67 8654.52

05-06 3816.98 35.38 36.26 4083.32 13.50 38.78 7900.80 10526.16

06-07 4553.60 19.30 37.39 4657.63 14.05 38.25 9211.23 12177.86

European Union is the main export region of Bangladeshi Knitwear constituting 79% (US$ 2227.27 million) of total knitwear export in FY 2003-2004 followed by USA (14.27%, i.e. US$ 402.38 million). This has become possible because it can satisfy the ROO of EU as value addition is higher (75%) in this sector. After the adoption of the guidelines for the application of the scheme of generalized tariff preferences by EC knitwear export from Bangladesh to EU rose precipitously. The two-stage transformation requirement of ROO in 1999 boosted market penetration in EU further; it contributed a growth of 101.19% since 2000-2001. Bangladesh RMG sector has successfully passed some critical tests and is now sailing with two masts: knit and woven. The sub-sectors are now in healthy competition among themselves to take the role of leadership within the country.In Financial Year 2003-04, knitwear for the first time exceeded woven wear and became the leader in terms of quantity exported with 91.6 million dozens. The amount of woven

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export was 90.49 million dozens. Knitwear is still leading in terms of quantity exported and is widening the gap day by day. The present difference in favor of knitwear is 56.21 million dozens. In FY 2003-04, the contribution of two RMG sub-sectors in national export were as follows: Woven Garments 46.54% and Knitwear 28.25%. In FY 2004-05 the figures have changed dramatically, the share of woven garment to the country's export has reduced to 41.58%, on the other hand the share of knitwear has increased to 32.58%. It indicates clearly that the knitwear is performing well in both ways. In Financial Year 2005-06 the scenario is as under:

Knitwear export increased by US$ 997.51 Million (35.38%)National export increased by US$ 1871.64 Million (21.63%) Therefore the contribution of knitwear in national export increase is 53.30%

Export of RMG in FY 2007-08 & 2008-09 (in Million USD):

Export of RMG in Financial Year 2007-08 &2008-09

Year Month Woven Knit Total

2007

July 345.20 346.74 691.94

August 417.02 445.05 862.07

September 353.78 412.46 766.24

October 314.66 387.32 701.98

November 417.14 442.06 859.20

December 471.11 516.57 987.64

2008

January 492.36 464.40 956.76

February 477.96 455.05 933.01

March 481.00 443.98 924.98

April 415.27 479.08 894.35

May 441.65 536.38 978.03

June 540.13 603.43 1143.56

Total (July2007-June2008) 5167.28 5532.52 10699.80

Share in National Export 36.62% 39.21% 75.83%

Year Month Woven Knit Total

2008

July 547.30 640.50 1187.8

August 485.90 569.64 1055.54

September 492.08 620.94 1113.02

October 292.22 357.04 649.26

Total (2008-2009) 1817.5 2188.12 4005.64

Share in National Export 34.61% 41.67% 77.26%

Export Performance of RMG over Government's Strategic Export Target for 2008-09 (July-August):

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Product Target (In Million USD) 2008-2009 (July-August)

% Change Of Export Performance Over Strategic Export Target

Knitwear 1128.45 +7.24%

Woven 974.24 +6.05%

Yearly Export (FY* 2007-08): US$ 5532.52 million (Largest)

EU: US$ 4216.57 MillionUSA: US$ 807.28 MillionCanada: US$ 232.40 MillionOthers: US$ 276.27 Million

Share in National Export: 39.21%Share in RMG Export: 51.70%Yearly Growth: 21.5% Contribution in National Export Increase: 50.67% Net Retention amount: US$ 3319.56 million Net retention rate: 60% (Highest) Value addition: 75% (Highest) Quantity Exported: 215.72 million dozens (11 Months)

Labor Force Employed: Direct - 1.00 million; about 70% of

them are women.Indirect - 0.50 million

Number of Member Units about: 1500 (2008)

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NATURAL RESOURCES OF BANGLADESH

An overview of land, water, and natural resources of Bangladesh:

Every one is entitled to natural resources. Human rights from human centric perspective enshrine every one’s access to natural resources. Corporate globalization leads to unjust and undemocratic socio-economic order where the poor and marginalized are loosing power and at the same time are lacking access to natural resources. People do not have decision making power over resources due to lack of enabling environment. As a result, poverty situation is worsening. Corporate powers manipulate globalization for their own profit. These powers own the maximum proportion of world’s resources. Scenario is same in the context of Bangladesh.

Natural resources are the common resources where every one should have equal access. Due to the unequal social structure rich people usually control the resources and poor are deprived off. Thus, poor is not poor by predetermined fate but they are poor because of lack of access to natural resources.

The policies in regard to the natural resources are framed through bureaucratic process and often follow the doctrines of colonial land policies that serve the benefit of the rich and powerful. As the poor have no access, the policies rule over the poor and their access by default are ignored.

Over exploitation of resources create climate hazard where people become the victims in the hand of corporate. Natural resources should not be used for profit only. Resource justice is an important aspect, which ensures rights and justice. Claiming rights over natural resources makes poor enabled to earn their livelihoods.

1. LAND RESOURCES

Most of Bangladesh lies within the broad delta formed by the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers and is exceedingly flat, low-lying, and subject to annual flooding. Much fertile, alluvial soil is deposited by the floodwaters. The only significant area of hilly terrain, constituting less than one-tenth of the nation's territory, is the Chittagong Hill Tracts District in the narrow southeastern panhandle of the country. There, on the border with Myanmar, is Mowdok Mual (1,003 m/3,291 ft), the country's highest peak. Small, scattered hills lie along or near the eastern and northern borders with India. The eroded remnants of two old alluvial terraces-the Madhupur Tract, in the north central part of the country, and The Barind, straddling the northwestern boundary with India-attain elevations of about 30 m (about 100 ft). The soil here is much less fertile than the annually replenished alluvium of the surrounding floodplain.

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Land:Total area: 144,000 square kilometers;Land area: 133,910 square kilometersLand boundaries: 4,246 km total; 193 km with Myanmar, 4,053 km with India, Coastline: 580 km.

Land distribution: · Arable land 67% · Forest and woodland 16% · Permanent crops 2% · Meadows and pastures 4% · Others 11%

Unjust Land Resources:

The total Geographical area of Bangladesh is about 56,000 square miles. (143,998 square kilometer) Out of which about 9 million hectares are cultivable land. A government survey finds that total cropped land is nearly 14.1 million hectares including single, double and triple cropping land. It is estimated that the growing population pressure will use up 50 per cent of the country’s cultivable land by 2025.Every person working in the agriculture sector now owns only an average of 0.12 hectares of cropland. According to the classification of land, out of the total area, 63 per cent are being used for cultivation while 4.38 per cent for rural and urban housing and the rest includes forest & cultivable waste land.

Khas land:

Out of the total amount of identified Khas land of 3.3 million acres, only a tiny portion has so far been distributed to the poor who face multifaceted difficulties in both obtaining and retaining land. Most Khas land, identified or un-identified, are illegally occupied by the rich segments of the society who are integral part of the power structure.Out of this 3.3 million acres 0.8 million acres are agricultural land, 1.7 million acres are non-agricultural land and 0.8 million acres are water-bodies.

Adivasi land:

Indigenous peoples from eleven different ethno-linguistic groups have been living in the region for many centuries. Chittagong Hill Tract is mostly occupied by different tribal communities. Some other indigenous communities are living across the country. Agriculture remains the main form of livelihood for CHT residents. Rice, with an agricultural yield of 0.90 Mt, is grown on 43.3% of the total cultivated land (0.19 M ha). A variety of fruits are grown with success, such as banana, pineapple, and jackfruit (Ullah 2002). The CHT has an area of 13,180 km, making up approximately 10% of the total area of Bangladesh. Compared to the low-lying floodplains that characterize most of Bangladesh, the topography of the CHT is quite steep, with over 70% of the land at a slope greater than 40%. The soils are characterized by low fertility. Kyokra-Dong, the

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highest peak of Bangladesh (1,230 meter) is located in the southern tip of the Rangamati district, near the borders of India and Myanmar. The largest river in the CHT, the Karnaphuli River, was dammed in 1962 for development of hydroelectric power, flooding an area of about 68,000 ha, to become what is today Kaptai Lake. The Karnaphuli, Feni, Chengi, Maini, Kassalong, Sangu and Matamuhuri Rivers carve the six main valleys in the CHT.

Poor people’s access:

According to government report 57% people of Bangladesh are landless poor & they live below poverty level. But Non-Government sources say that the number of landless people in Bangladesh is more than 68%. They live in perpetual poverty, hunger, disease and deprivation. The percentage of landless poor has been increasing for last couple of decades.

1947: 14.3%1970: 19.8%1975: 32%1984: 46%2001: 68.8%

Land occupy by the rich:

22% of the rich & middle farmers of rural areas of Bangladesh own 71% of the total land & receive 31% institutional credit.

Land occupied in Dhaka:

About 15% of the land in Dhaka is owned by 2% of the upper class elite of this metropolis, 28% middle class families own 65% of the residential areas and 70% poor families own only 20% of the residential areas. Most of the lands owned by the poor families are of poor quality in the outskirts & depressed areas.

Landless labor:

As a result 69% of our people are landless, laborers, workers, slum dwellers and are forced to live in perpetual poverty, hunger, malnutrition & deprivation. The increasing population in the country is increasingly demanding natural resources for their survival. As Lewis Smith notes, each person needs 21.9 hectares of the Earth’s surface to supply their needs whereas, it was calculated, the Earth’s biological capacity is 15.7 hectares per person. Bangladesh is densely most populated country in the world. Therefore, this calculation could remind us how our country is dangerously exploiting natural resources.

Densely populated country faces serious problem of control and conflict over resources. Lands are occupied by commercial establishment, road network, urban development, forestry, fishing etc. rest of the land utilized for crop production and homesteads.

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Bangladesh is a country of about 143,999 sq. km including inland and estuarine water surfaces. Over 58% people are functionally landless in Bangladesh. About 17.8 million acres are cultivated land and average household farm (those who have farm land) size is 1.5 acre.

Over utilization of land reduces fertility of land for meeting increasing demand of food. In addition, utilization of chemical fertilizer and pesticides hampers fertility besides polluting water and creating health hazards. Thus, eco-system is also hampered by the excessive utilization of land. The increasing demand for urbanization motivates unplanned infrastructural development at rural areas. River bank erosion and salutation are other cases for land degradation. Natural and man made both causes are involved in this process. A study found symptoms of land degradation such as Depletion of organic matter, Nutrient deficiency, Acidification, Salinization, Soil compaction, Plough pan formation, Overgrazing, Deforestation of hilly land, shifting cultivation without adequate fallow periods, Water logging, and Accelerated erosion.

2. WATER RESOURCES

Unjust Water Resources:

Water bodies: Inland water bodies: rivers and estuaries 1031563 ha., Beels 114161 ha., Kaptai Lake 68800 ha., Flood lands 2832792 ha., Ponds 230000 ha., Baors 5488 ha., Shrimp farms 141353 ha.[viii]

There are two aspects of surface and ground water: i) availability and ii) quality. The availability depends on monsoon climate, upstream flow, and consumption. Quality of surface water is deteriorated by chemicals, pesticides, and pollutants from factories. Water crisis occurs due to low rain fall, densely population, and agricultural, industrial, and urban needs. In one hand, there is scarcity of water during dry season. On the other hand, overflow of water is observed during monsoon. These two extreme situations create livelihood crisis and sufferings to the poor people. In addition, saline water from sea invades inland areas and degrades quality of surface and ground water as well as decrease fertility and increase salinity of soil.

The ground water level has been downing at Rajshahi and Bogura District for last 15 years. Many hand and machine driven tube wells are malfunctioning due to this problem. Experts say, if this continues, water shortage and even land slide could occur in the coming time (The Somokal, 04.05.07, p 12). We have used excessive ground water and have not found other alternatives of that, which caused today’s crisis. Scientists say that due to lack of rain fall and the drying up of river Padma are two important reasons for ground water crisis in the region. It also indicates the change in ecology and biodiversity due to manipulation of upstream flow of Padma by the Farakka dam. India had always been cruel in terms sharing Gangas water and the obvious impact is the dying Padma.

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Severe water crisis was observed in Dhaka and nearby areas in the recent time, which is an alarm for city dwellers. Tube wells could not pump out water because the ground water level has gone down. A research says that, ground water layer under Dhaka city was lowered around 20 miters during 1996-2003. In 1996, the layer was at 26.6 meters and in 2003 the layer became 46.6 meter. It is assumed that the water layer is further lowered at 52 meters. This is not just happening under Dhaka city but also across the country. Thus, in one hand ground water layer is going down, on the other hand, due to global warming 67% ice of Himalaya is melting down. Under such as a circumstances monsoon could be the only source of water in the country but climate change could also uncertain the monsoon.

Government of Bangladesh has adopted National Water Policy in 1999 with a goal for proper utilization and conservation of water resources. This policy paper has declared water as “fundamental human rights”. The policy urges strong participation from citizens at all levels to ensure right to water. Article 2 (b) stresses on availability of water for poor and underprivileged community and gives special attention to women and children.

Cholon Beel:

There are many water bodies, which could generate more income. For example, we could generate Tk. 400 crore from Cholon beel per year. It is possible to produce 2 lac. M.T. fish through systematic and planned fish culture in this beel. The market price of this fish is Tk. 200 crore. Some group of people has occupied water bodies and Khas land illegally and they are united to resist Cholon beel development project. Experts say that if these lands could be distributed among land less farmers and water bodies among fishing community, it could improve income and lives of these marginal people. There is also prospect to develop this beel as Eco Park or eco beel. This is an example of a potential beel, which is left unplanned. Thus, access to natural resources means that marginal farmers and fishermen could access to the resources of the beel.

Hakaluki Haor:

There is a world’s biggest haor in Bangladesh name Hakaluki. It is unfortunate and a good example too that as a nation we can not take care our resources. A group of greedy people has been systematically destroying the haor for fishing. Bio-diversity in this area is in danger. Local administration had seized some water pump machines and fishing nets in the haor area. There are government khas lands around the haor. Due to lack of care part of the haor areas transformed into khas land. Fish species are wiping out from the haor due to these overwhelming fishing activities. According to sources, 30- 40 beels exist out of 300 beels of Hakaluki haor. The rest of beels are filled and transformed into dry desert.

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3. FAUNA AND FLORA

Abundance of Bangladesh's bird life makes it an ornithologist's paradise. Of the 525 recorded species, 350 are resident. Among them are bulbul, magpie, robin, common game birds, cuckoos, hawks, owls, crows, kingfishers, woodpeckers, parrots and myna. A wide variety of warblers are also found. Some of them are migrants and appear only in winter. The migratory and seasonal birds are pre-dominantly ducks.

Of the 200 species of mammals, the pride of place goes to the Royal Bengal Tiger of the Sunderbans, the largest block of littoral forests spreading over an area of 6,000 sq. km. Next comes the elephants found mainly in the forests of the Chittagong Hill Tracts districts. South Himalayan black bear and the Malayan bear are also seen here. Six types of deer are found in the hill tracts and the Sunderbans. Of them the spotted deer, barking deer and sambar are the most familiar. Clouded leopard, leopard cat, mongoose, jackal and rhesus monkey are also found. Among the bovine animals, three species- buffalo, ox and gayal- are found. There are about 150 species of reptiles of which the sea turtle, river tortoise, mud turtle, crocodiles, gavial, python, krait and cobra and common. About 200 species of marine and freshwater fish are also found. Prawns and lobsters are available in plenty for local consumption and export.

In the shallow water of the floodplains, ponds and swamps of the country various hydrophytes and floating ferns grow in abundance. Tall grasses present a picturesque site near the banks of the rivers and the marshes. Around 60% of the Gangetic plain is under rice paddy and jute cultivation. The village homes are usually concealed by the lush green foliage of a wide variety of trees, thickets of bamboo and banana plants. A characteristic feature of the landscape is the presence of a variety of palm and fruit trees.Each season produces its special variety of flowers in Bangladesh; among them, the prolific Water Hyacinth flourishes. Its carpet of thick green leaves and blue flowers gives the impression that solid ground lies underneath. Other decorative plants, which are widely spread, are Jasmine, Water Lily, Rose, Hibiscus, Bougainvillea, Magnolia, and an incredible diversity of wild orchids in the forested areas.

Lying close to the Himalayas, the Sylhet area has extensive natural depressed lands locally called 'haors' (pronounced 'howers', wetlands). During the winter season they are home to huge flocks of wild fowl. Outstanding species include the rare Baer's pochard and Pallas' fishing eagle, along with a great number of ducks and skulkers. Other important habitats are the remaining fragments of evergreen and teak forests, especially along the Indian border near the Srimongal area. The blue-bearded bee-eater, red breasted trogan and a wide variety of forest birds, including rare visitors, are regularly seen in these forests. One of two important coastal zones is the Noakhali region, with emphasis on the islands near Hatiya, where migratory species and a variety of wintering waders find suitable refuge. These include large numbers of the rare spoonbilled sandpiper, Nordman's greenshank and flocks of Indian skimmers.

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4. MINERAL RESOURCES

Mineral reserves plus all other deposits that may eventually become available - either known deposits that are not economically or technologically recoverable at present, or unknown deposits, rich or lean, that may be inferred to exist but have not yet been discovered. Geologically, Bangladesh occupies a greater part of the bengal basin and the country is covered by Tertiary folded sedimentary rocks (12%) in the north, north eastern and eastern parts; uplifted Pleistocene residuum (8%) in the north western, mid northern and eastern parts; and Holocene deposits (80%) consisting of unconsolidated sand, silt and clay. The oldest exposed rock is the Tura Sandstone of Palaeocene age but older rocks like Mesozoic, Palaeozoic amid Precambrian basement have been encountered in the drill holes in the north western part of the country.

Because of a different geological environment, important mineral deposits of Bangladesh are natural gas, coal, limestone, hardrock, gravel, boulder, glass sand, construction sand, white clay, brick clay, peat, and beach sand heavy minerals. Tertiary Barail shales occurring within the oil and gas windows have generated natural gas and oil found in Bangladesh. After generation, gas and oil have migrated upward through multi-kilometre rock layers above, to reach and accumulate in suitable sandstone reservoirs in the Neogene Bhuban and Bokabil rock units. Gravel, glass sand, construction sand, peat, and beach sand are found in the Holocene sediments, and white clay (kaolin) is found in the late Pleistocene sediments in the small hills mainly in the northern part of the country. White clay and glass sand deposits have also been discovered in the north-western part below the surface. Exploitation of the deposits of limestone, construction sand, gravel, glass sand, white clay and beach sand are done through small scale quarrying. The subsurface white clay and glass sand deposits have not been mined yet. Developments of subsurface coal and hardrock mines are going on.

5. COAL

Coal black or blackish mineral substance formed from the compaction of ancient plant matter in tropical swamp conditions. It is used as a fuel and in the chemical industry. The principal centres of coal production in India close to the Bangladesh border are the Bengal-Bihar Coal fields at Jharia, Raniganj, Bokaro and Karanpura. The railways have been the chief consumers of Indian coal. Coal mining in India was first started at Raniganj, west bengal in 1774, but its output merely supplied local requirements until the East Indian Railway entered the field in 1854. By 1903, the Raniganj field accounted for about 41.2% of the total coal production in India. Similarly, the production of the Jharia field in 1894, following the laying of a branch line connecting it with the East Indian Railway system, was 14,818 tons. Then the production rapidly increased, and in 1903 the output of Jharia represented one-third of the total coal production of India. The coalfields in various parts of assam are, however, associated with the rocks of the Tertiary age.

In Bangladesh four major subsurface coalfields are discovered. From 1857 to 1957 a number of geologists expressed with the hope that under the green cropped land in Bangladesh, coal mines which would surpass this significance of those in Raniganj would

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be found. In spite of this East Pakistan was neglected for the exploration works for mineral resources. But the hopes of the geologists were vindicated when in course of searching for oil in 1959 STANVAC drilled a hole in Kuchma X-1 in Bogra district, where Gondwana coal was encountered at a depth of 2381m from surface. It was decided to abandon the well earlier but later STANVAC continued drilling and as a result the coal was discovered. Thick Eocene limestone bed was also encountered in the hole. This discovery was an eye-opener to the possibility of finding mineral resources in mineable depth. Consequently in 1961 under the UN-Pak Mineral Survey Project the Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) carried out detailed geological, geophysical and drilling operations in the districts of Bogra and Rajshahi and found coal resources of about 1,050 million tons in the Jamalganj-Paharpur coal fields and a huge quantity of Eocene limestone in the area.

In 1972, geological survey of bangladesh (GSB) was established. It undertook a project (1981-1990) with the financial assistance of the Asian Development Bank under the title "Accelerated Exploration for Mineral Resources and Modernisation of the Geological Survey of Bangladesh". The Project was successfully implemented. Under this project the Geological Survey of Bangladesh discovered Permian Gondwana coal at Barapukuria of Dinajpur district in 1985, Khalaspir of Rangpur district in 1989 and Dighipara of Dinajpur district in 1995. In the Barapukuria coal basin, GSB completed seven drill holes during the years 1985-87. GSB also calculated the reserves, thickness and extent of the coal. Later on another 25 holes were drilled by Chinese and British company to know the details of the extent, reserves, thickness, seam condition, overburden characteristics and hydrogeological conditions. In the Khalaspir basin 4 holes were drilled by GSB and in the Dighipara basin only one hole was drilled.

Wardell Armstrong of UK carried out a techno-economic feasibility study of the Barapukuria Coal in 1990. Coal here is extended in an area of 5.25 square kilometres below the surface at depths ranging from 118m to 506m. The total reserve of coal in this field is 300 million tons and the mineable reserve is 70 million tons. The coal is high volatile, low sulphur bituminous type. Government of Bangladesh made an agreement with a Chinese consortium to extract this coal. petrobangla is the executing agency of this mine. The mine will be opened by two shafts of 6m diameter to a depth of 280m below the surface. Mining of the Barapukuria coal is in progress. Production of this coal is expected to start in June 2002 with a target of one million metric ton of coal per year. Eighty percent of this coal will be consumed in a 300 MW power plant near the mine mouth. The rest of coal will be consumed in industry and domestic uses.

Coal in the Jamalganj-Paharpur area is too deep to mine. Extraction of coal bed methane from this field is under consideration. A detailed study of this is yet to be done. Coals in the Khalaspir basin and Dighipara basin are same as the Barapukuria basin. A detailed geological study of the coal including extent, reserves and thickness is yet to be completed. Broken Hill Proprietor of Australia discovered Gondwana coal at a depth of 150m below the surface at Phulbari of Dinajpur district in 1997. Detailed study of this coal is yet to be done. Besides the Permian Gondwana coal in the northern part of Bangladesh, GSP discovered two beds of ligno-bituminous Tertiary coal in Takerghat-

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Baglibazar area at a depth of 45m to 97m below the surface in the years 1960-62. The beds are 0.90m to 1.70m thick and reserves were estimated at 3.00 million tons.

6. FOREST RESOURCES

Forest is a very important renewable resource in Bangladesh. It provides materials like timber, pulp, pole, fuel wood, food, and medicine, habitat for wildlife and primary base for biodiversity. It also provides oxygen, controls or reduces the intensity of the cyclones and tidal surges in the coastal areas of Bangladesh, influences the rainfall, and sustained water yield in the river systems etc. Besides these, forest is also used for hunting, and nature based tourism. Now days, eco-tourism is the preferred type of tourism and it is widely believed that eco-tourism could be an alternative mechanism for environmentally sustainable development without depleting the forest resources and its habitat and biodiversity. Considering all these, forest and consequently forest management is getting importance with the passage of time.

Present Forest Management

The present forest management is almost totally different from the past one in respect of its objectives and philosophy. Present forest management objectives are not only to produce timber only but also to provide clean air, clean water, healthy habitat for wildlife and to act as a major source of biodiversity and nature-based tourism. The present philosophy of forest management is to involve people in the management and create an environment so that people can feel that they have also some stakes on trees growing on the forestland and to improve living standard of the people residing in the vicinity of the forests.

Recent Improvement in Management Practices:

Inventories of all major forest formations in the country except the forests in Chittagong Hill Tracts were carried out. This has provided the necessary database for using quantitative information for writing more comprehensive management plans for different forests. Small units of uniform crop have been identified and information on these units was recorded with the help of computer based Resources Information Management System (RIMS) unit in FD.

The inventory and associated activities have made long desired information on the status, growth and yield of forests in the country available. It has been possible to develop volume and yield functions for all major plantation species and volume functions for major species in natural forests. This has made possible to regulate yield for long period of time. A new working plan format has been devised to make it possible for the use of the available information in future management plans.

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An annual plan of operation is included as part of the management plan. This is basically a detailed plan of operation within the forest division and is prepared by the Divisional Forest Officer.

In recent years there has been a substantial shift in emphasis in Forestry and Forest Management from maximizing yield towards maximizing sustainability through increased participation of local population, conserving biodiversity and maintaining forestry services.

The present management systems are evolved from the past ones through various modifications in order to incorporate present objectives of forest management. Some new forest management systems are also added to address new concept in forest management such as agro forestry, homestead plantation, strip plantation, participatory forestry on encroached forest, mangrove forestation on newly accreted land in the coastal area, conservation area management to preserve wildlife habitat and biodiversity.

Depending on their location, nature and type of management of the forests of Bangladesh can be grouped into three broad categories, which is tabled below:

Types of Forest Area(m ha) Percentage

Natural Mangrove Forest and Plantation 0.73 4.95

Tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen Forest 0.67 4.54

Tropical moist deciduous Forest 0.12 0.81

Total 1.52 10.3

Types of Forest:

i) Mangrove Forests:

Natural Mangrove Forests:

The largest single tract of natural mangrove forest is the Sundarban. It consists of a total of 6, 01,700 hectare which is 4.07% of total land mass of the country and 40% of total forest land. Sundarban harbors 334 species of trees, shrubs and epiphytes and 269 species of wild animals. World renowned Royal Bengal Tiger is the magnificent animal of the Sundarban. 1, 39,700 hectare forest land of Sundarban is declared as World Heritage Site where three wildlife sanctuaries viz.Sundarban East, Sundarban West and Sundarban South wildlife sanctuaries are located. The forest inventory of 1998 exhibits that there are 12.26 million cubic meter timber is available from the species of Sundri (Heritiera fomes), Gewa (Excoecaria agallocha), Keora (Sonneratia apetala), Baen (Avecennia officinalis), Dhundul (Xylocarpus granatum), Passur (Xylocarpus mekongensis) etc with 15cm and above diameter.

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Sundri is the most important tree species in the Sundarban which is distributed over 73% of the reserve. Extent of Sundri is followed by Gewa (Excoecaria agallocha), Baen (Avecinnia offcecinalis), Passur (Xylocarpur mekongensis), Keora (Sonneratia apetala) etc. There are some other non-wood forest products like Golpata (Nypa fruticans), honey, wax, fish, crab etc which are also of high value.

Sundarban is a unique habitat for a number of wildlife. Among them some mammals are Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), Gangetic Dolphin (Platanista gangetica), Monkey (Macaca mulatta), Indian Fishing cat (Felis viverrina), Indian Otter (Lutra perspicillata), Spotted Deer (Axis axis) etc. Reptiles like Estuarine Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), Monitor Lizard (Varanus salvator), Rock Python (Python molurus) and Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) etc. are found in the Sundarban.

Mangrove Plantation: Mangrove afforestation along the entire southern coastal frontier is an innovation of foresters. During 1960-61, Government undertook afforestation programme along the shore land of coastal districts. This initiative got mementum from 1980-81 with the aid of development partners and forestation programs are extended over foreshore islands, embankments and along the open coasts.

Since 1960-61 upto 1999-2000, 142,835 hectare of mangrove plantations have been raised under a number of coastal afforestation projects. The present net area of mangrove plantation is 132,000 hectare after losing some area due to natural calamities.

ii) Tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forests

Tropical evergreen and semi evergreen forests are extended over Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong Hill Tracts and Sylhet totaling an area of 6,70,000 hectare which is 4.54% of total landmass of the country and 44% of national forest land. Depending on topography, soil and climate these area are categorized as:

i) Tropical wet evergreen forests and ii) Tropical semi-evergreen forests.

The hill forests are abundant with numerous plant as well as animal species. Some important flora are Garjan (Dipterocarpus spp.), Chapalish (Artocarpus chaplasha), Telsur (Hopea odorata), Tali (Palaquium polyanthrum), Kamdeb (Callophyllum polyanthum), Uriam (Mangifera sylvatica), Jarul (Legarstromia speciosa), Civit (Swintonia floribunda), Toon (Cedrela toona), Bandorhola (Duabanga grandiflora) etc. Moreover there are bamboo, cane, climbers and fern etc. in these forests.

These forests are brought under plantation programme since 1871. At present, plantation activities are being conducted under development projects. Some valuable plantation species are Teak (Tectona grandis), Gamar (Gmelina arborea), Mehogani (Swietenia spp), Chapalish (Artocarpus chaplasha), Jarul (Legarstromia speciosa), Koroi (Albizzia spp), Chikrassi (Chikrassia tabularis), Pynkado (Xylia dolabriformis), Kadam (Anthocephalus cadamba), Telsur (Hopea odorata) etc.

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The latest forest inventory shows that a total of 23, 93 million cubic meter forest produces are available there.

Among the mammals Elephant (Elephas maximus), monkey (Macaca mulatta), Wild Boar (Sus scrofa), Barking Deer ( Muntiacus muntjak), Samvar (Cervus unicolor), and Indian Leopard (Panthera pardus). Among the reptiles King cobra (Ophiophagus hanna) Monitor Lizard (Varanus salvator) and Bengal Monitor Lizard (Varanus bengalensis) are remarkable.

iii) Tropical moist deciduous Forests

The Central and northern districts covering an area of 1,20,000 ha about 0.81% of total land mass of the country and 7.8% of the country’s forest land are bestowed with Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests. This forest is intermingled with the neighbouring settlements and fragmented into smaller patches. Sal (Shorea robusta) is the main species there with other associates like Koroi (Albizzia procera), Azuli (Dillenia pentagyna), Sonalu (Cassia fistula), Bohera (Terminalia belerica), Haritaki (Terminalia chebula), Kanchan (Bauhinia acuminata), Jarul (Lagerstroemia speciosa), Jam (Syzygium spp) etc. A recent forest inventory encountered that 3.75 million cubic meter wood available in the sal forests. Presently participatory forestry programme are being implemented here under the social forestry initiatives. Among the mammals, Jackel (Canis aureus), Monkey (Macaca mulatta), Wild cat (Felis chaus) etc. are found there and among the reptiles Bengal Monitor Lizard (Varanus bengalensis) and common cobra are remarkable.

iv) Village Forests

Tree coverage in the village forests are 2, 70,000 hectare which acts as the source of a remarkable portion of national demand of forest produces. The latest inventory exhibits that a total of 54.7 million cu m forest produces are available in this village forests.

Contribution to Economy:

Forestry is a long-term production system. It has manifold contribution towards the welfare of mankind. The multiple use of forest resources have been recognized from the advent of civilization. The Forestry sector contributes about 5% of the total GDP (Gross domestic product) of Bangladesh. This does not reflect the true contribution of this sector. The rural population uses fuelwood and other minor forest products practically free of cost. Forest also plays an important role in protecting watersheds, irrigation and hydraulic structure, also in keeping the rivers and ports navigable. It also plays key role in protecting the coastal areas from natural calamities. The role of forest in protecting the environment from pollution and its contribution towards bio-diversity is immense.

The participatory social forestry contributes towards rural poverty reduction significantly. In the last 3 years, out of total sale proceeds of timber and fuelwood about 308 (three hundred and eight) million taka has been distributed to 23561 participants. Social Forestry Rules have been framed to give the legal basis of benefit sharing system. Tree

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farming fund has been created from the 10% of the sale proceeds to create new resources on the same pieces of land involving the same participants, to ensure sustainability. The TFF operating committee has been established involving local government and Local Community Organization (LCO).

Apart from the sale proceeds, participants also get money from Forest Department for their labor input in the plantation activities. They also get periodic income from agriculture crops grown between the trees both in forest and marginal land. The participants also get thinning and pruning outputs in many places.

Employment generationIn 2001-2002, about 2% (two percent) of the total manpower of the country was engaged in the forestry sector. Many people actually benefited directly from forestry-related activities e.g. in wood based industry, saw milling, furniture making, establishing private nursery, logging, extraction and in afforestation programs. Besides this in Sundarban millions of people are dependant on the the mangrove forest for their livelihood (e.g mawali, bawali, fisherman etc).

Fuel woodFuelwood is the major wood product required today, Bangladesh needs over 8.0 million cubic meter fuelwood every year. Domestic cooking uses an estimated 63%, which is 5.1 million cubic meter annually. Industrial and commercial use is also significant, which is 2.9 million cubic meter annually. According to Forestry Master Plan, village household supply about 75% of the fuelwood in the country where as government forestry program provides the rest 25%.Due to limited alternative sources of energy the rural people are mainly dependant on fuelwood for cooking and other household activities. The Government of Bangladesh took many initiatives to provide the consumer an additional supply of fuelwood for the future.

NWFP (Non Wood Forest Products)Some of the important non-wood forest products are listed below:

Bamboo (Melocanna baccifera, Bambusa tulda etc.)Plays a very crucial role in our rural economy and is a singular essential material for construction of temporary house / shelter for the rural people, especially for the hilly tribal people.

Sungrass (Imperata spp.)The most common roofing / thatching material for temporary low -cost housing in the villages and forest terrain's of Bangladesh.

Cane (Calamus viminalis,Calamus guruba)Used for domestic purposes by the rural people, but more so, for sophisticated furniture making & luxury souvenir articles.

Pati Pata / Murta (Clinogynae dichotoma)This is an excellent material for floor-mats (Pati), which is extensively used by the poor villagers and also as a luxury item for the rich people. This is also exported by the cottage industries as a finished product.

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Gol-Pata (Nypa fruticans)This is a very popular and essential thatching / roofing material for poor people, around Khulna, Bagerhat and Satkhira districts and fetches handsome revenue for the Forest Department.

Leaves, Bark & Fruits"Kurus pata'' Holarrhena antidysenterica is very popular for medicinal use. Horitaki (Terminalia chebula), Amlaki (Phyllanthus emblica), Bohera (Terminalia belerica) popularly called "Trifala" (Myrabolum) are used as medicine in the country.

HoneyUsed as food, drink, beverage and also as a medicine in the country.

Shells, Conch-Shells, oysters etcConsiderable quantity of shells, oysters, conchshells are collected by local inhabitants, as a means of livelihood in the coastal forest-belts, like Cox's Bazar, Teknaf, Moheshkhali, Barisal, Patuakhali, Sundarbans etc. These are highly priced by tourists as souvenir articles and as such may be exported.

Fish ResourcesIn rivers flowing inside forest areas like Sundarbans, Chittagong Hill Tracts and Sylhet (as well as in the coastal belts and offshore islands under the jurisdiction of Forest Department) considerable quantity of different types of fish (both sweet-water and saline fish) are harvested by local fishermen, for which the Forest Department earns revenue.

7. NATURAL GAS :

In Bangladesh natural gas is one of the important sources of energy that accounts for 73 percent of the commercial energy of the country. Till now 23 gas fields have been discovered in the country. As per Gas Sector Master Plan 2006, the estimated proven recoverable reserve (P1) of the 22 gas fields was 15.188 TCF. The reserve of Bangura gas field in Block 9 is being assessed. As of June 2007, total 7.054 TCF gas has already been produced leaving only 8.134 TCF recoverable gas. Moreover, 22 gas fields have reserves of 5.28 TCF under proven extractable category (P2) and 7.71 TCF under possible category (P3).

Table: Total Gas Reserve, Extractable Gas and Cumulative Production of Gas up to June 2007:- (In Billion Cubic Feet (BCF)

Gas Field Proved Cumulative Proved Probable

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Reserve(Recoverable)

Production (Provisional) (Up to June

2007)

Remaining Reserve

Reserve (Recoverable)

Producing:

BAKHRABAD 790.00 688.39 121.61 259.00

HABIGANJ 3825.00 1442.70 2382.30 27.00

JALABAD 511.00 395.92 115.08 3026.00

KAILASHTILLA 1067.00 398.28 668.72 837.00

MEGHNA 72.00 35.83 36.17 48.00

NARSHINGDI 165.00 74.28 90.72 50.00

RASHIDPUR 979.00 410.19 568.81 423.00

SYLEHT 367.00 185.74 181.26 112.00

SANGU* 848.00 415.88 432.12 -

SALDA NADI 53.00 51.01 1.99 63.00

TITAS 4000.00 2709.55 1290.45 1128.00

BEANIBAZAR 170.00 47.08 122.92 -

FENCHUGANJ 60.00 43.40 16.60 223.00

FENMOULVIBAZAR 52.00 18.50 33.50 77.00

BIBIYANA 347.00 83.90 263.10 -

BANGURA** 1209.00 30.86 1178.14 1192

NOT IN PRODUCTION:

BEGUMGANJ 10.00 0.00 10.00 23.00

KUTUBDIA* - 0.00 0.00 46.00

SEMUTANG 121.80 0.00 121.80 -

SHAHBAZPUR 256.00 0.00 256.00 210.00

PRODUCTION SUSPEND:

CHHATAK 265.00 25.80 239.20 209.00

KAMTA 21.00 17.05 3.95 25.00

TOTAL 15,188.80 7054.36 8134.44 5278.00

* Offshore field** The reserve of Bangura gas field in Block 9 is under evaluation, but production from Bangura gas field has been started since May 13, 2006 at the rate of about 70 mmcfd.

Presently, 73 wells in 17 gas fields are in production. The producing gas fields are: Titas (15 wells), Bakhrabad (4 wells), Habiganj (9 wells), Rashidpur (6 wells), Kailashtilla (5 wells), Sylhet (2 wells), Narsingdi (2 wells), Meghna (1 well), Saldanadi (2 wells), Fenchuganj (1 well), Sangu (6 wells), Jalalabad (4 wells), Beanibazar (2 wells), Feni (3

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wells), Moulavibazar (4 wells) and Bangura (2 wells) and Bibiyana (5 wells). A total of 526.72 billion cubic feet (BCF) gas was produced in the fiscal year 2005-2006, while in the fiscal year 2006-2007 total gas production was 562.13 BCF, i.e. gas production growth rate was 6.72 percent in FY 2006-2007.

Year wise and sector wise gas consumption and demand are shown in the following table respectively.

Table: Sector and Year wise Consumption of Natural GasIn Billion Cubic Feet (BCF)

Fiscal Years 1999-2000

2000-2001

2001-2002

2002-2003

2003-2004

2004-2005

2005-2006

2006-2007

Production 332.35 372.16 391.53 421.16 454.59 486.75 526.72 562.13

Sector

Power 147.62 175.27 190.03 190.54 199.40 211.02 222.72 221.15

Fertilizer 83.31 88.43 78.78 95.89 92.80 93.97 88.58 93.47

Industry 41.52 47.99 53.56 63.76 46.49 51.68 63.44 77.48

CapacityPower

0 0 0 0 32.03 37.87 49.02 62.51

Tea States 0.64 0.65 0.72 0.74 0.80 0.80 0.76 0.75

B. Fields(Seasonal)

0.35 0.44 0.53 0.52 0.12 0.00 0.00 0.00

Commercial 3.85 4.06 4.25 4.56 4.83 4.85 5.24 5.66

Domestic 29.56 31.85 36.74 44.80 49.22 52.49 57.13 63.25

CNG 0 0 0 0.23 1.94 3.62 6.71 11.99

Total Sales

306.85 348.69 364.61 401.04 427.66 456.30 493.61 536.26

T a b l e - Sector wise Demand for Natural Gas(In Billion Cubic Feet)

Sector 2006-07(Actual)

2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

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Power 221.15 238.50 257.60 278.20 300.50

Capacity 62.51 80.00 102.40 120.90 142.60

Fertilizer 93.47 94.00 94.00 94.00 94.00

Industry 77.48 93.00 111.60 133.90 160.70

Commercial 5.66 6.00 6.40 6.80 7.30

Brick Field (Seasonal)

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

Domestic 63.25 70.80 79.30 88.90 99.50

Tea-Estates 0.75 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00

CNG 11.99 20.40 34.70 58.90 88.40

*System Loss

25.87 21.10 20.00 19.00 18.00

Total 562.13 624.90 707.00 801.00 911.90

*Including own use.

In Bangladesh, it has become extremely important to explore and develop new gas fields to meet the increasing demand of gas. To intensify exploration activities, the whole country has been divided into 23 blocks. As a result, International Oil Companies have signed 10 Production Sharing Contracts 127 (PSCs) for 12 acreage blocks. Out of these, 02 PSCs have already expired. Currently, 08 PSCs are in force in 10 acreage blocks.

Meanwhile, Cairn Energy has discovered an offshore gas field called Sangu in Block 16. It has been producing gas since 1998 under production sharing contract and contributing to our national gas supply grid. In 2005, a seperate agreement was signed with Cairn to further explore three ring- gas fenced prospects i.e. Hatia, Monpura and Magnama in block # 16. Chevron (the then Unocal) discovered two gas fields called Moulavibazar and Bibiyana in blocks 14 and 12 respectively. On successful completion of development activities, Chevron has been producing gas from Moulvibazar gas field since April 2005. The first phase development work of Bibiyana gas field has recently been completed and gas production started from 18th March 2007. Now the second phase developmentwork of Bibiyana gas field is going on. Tullow also discovered Bangora-Lalmai gas field in block #9. Tullow is implementing development activities in Bangora-Lalmai gas field and simultaneously supplying gas to the national grid through Long Term Testing. The government has been making preparations for Bangladesh Offshore Bidding Round 2007 to be invited very soon.

To meet the increasing demand of gas, several important projects are being implemented such as- GOB funded Shahbazpur Gas Field Development Project, Operation Capability Strengthening project, Mubarakpur Oil/Gas Exploration Well Drilling Project, Gas Supply to Sylhet Combined Cycle Power Plant and Shahjalal Fertilizer Factory etc. and self financed projects like Reservoir Management Project, Installation of MSTE plant in Beanibazar and Kailashtilla gas fields, Installation of condensate fractionation plant in Rashidpur gas field, Drilling of new wells in Habiganj and Narsingdi gas fields, Drilling of new wells in Titas gas field, Redevelopment of Bakhrabad gas field (1st phase),

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Recompletion of Meghna well # 1. An opportunity has been created for expansion of gas network to the western & south-western zone of the country by implementing of ADB funded “Gas Transmission and Development Project (GTDP)”. Under GTDP, a total of 356 km gas transmission pipelines will be constructed to transport gas to the western & south-western region of the country. These pipelines are; (i) Monohardi-Dhanua, Elenga-East Bank of Jamuna gas transmission pipeline (51 km) (ii) West Bank of Jamuna Bridge-Nalka, Hatikumrul-Iswardi-Bheramara gas transmission pipeline (87 km), (iii) Bonpara-Rajshahi gas transmission pipeline (53 km) (iv) Bheramara-Khulna gas transmission pipeline (165 km). Moreover, 04 compressor stations will be installed at Muchai (01), Elenga (01) and Ashuganj (02) under GTDP project.

LPGThe LPG Plant at Kailashtilla has been producing Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) with production capacity of 5000 tons per annum from the NGL being extracted from Kailashtilla gas field. In addition, a programme for installation of NGL fractionation plant having the capacity of 110 tons/day at a cost of Taka 105 Crore (GOB fund) is under implementation at Kailashtilla under Turnkey EPC contract to produce petroleum products like LPG, MS, HSD, Kerosene by fractionating NGL extracted from the wet gas fields at Kailashtilla, Beanibazar and Jalalabad. After implementation of this project about 8,560 MT of LPG, 13,140 MT of petrol and 14,600 MT of diesel will be produced per year from this plant.

CNGVehicle conversion to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is well underway and promotion of this mode of fuel is being encouraged. Before using CNG, the uncontrolled emission of motor vehicles especially from two stroke three-wheeler baby taxi and diesel bus was the major cause of air pollution in urban areas specially Dhaka City. It had poor visibility due to air pollution in many areas of Dhaka city. Eye irritation, respiratory illness, cardio vascular diseases were common phenomenon to city dwellers. Natural gas of Bangladesh consists of typically more than 96 percent methane and practically contains no sulfur. By raising the use of CNG substantial improvement in air quality is observed in urban areas. Government has been encouraging private sector participation for installation of CNG re-fuelling stations. To facilitate CNG use, about 165 CNG re-fuelling stations and 108 conversion workshops have already been set-up in the country and 1,13,945 CNG vehicles run in the country as of June 2007.

Among these CNG re-fuelling stations, 92 at Dhaka, 11 at Savar, 12 at Gazipur, 7 at Narayanganj, 5 at Comilla, 2 at Feni, 1 at Kishorgonj, 3 at Bogra, 6 at Sylhet, 25 at Chittagong and 1 at Pabna have been installed. Installation of 18 more CNG re-fueling stations in various regions of the country is underway. Under ADB funded “Dhaka Clean Fuel Project” another 26 CNG re-fuelling stations will be installed within any convenient plakhe of the following 06 highways: i) Dhaka-Chittagong ii) Dhaka-Sylhet iii) Dhaka-Mymensingh iv) Dhaka-Aricha v) Dhaka-Sirajgonj-Bogra and vi) Dhaka-Mawa highway. For installation of 26 CNG filling stations by private entrepreneurs a loan agreement has been signed on 30 June 2007 with Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd. and another agreement with

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Southeast Bank was signed on 15th July 2007. Under this project, 100 CNG buses/chassis (CBU condition) will be handed over to private entrepreneurs through Commercial Bank/Leasing Company, 2,500 conversion kits and 3,000 cylinders out of 5,000 conversion kits and 6,000 cylinders have already been imported. Installation of a new CNG conversion workshop at Dhania is in progress and existing workshop at Joarshahara will also be upgraded and modernized under the same project. Efforts are continuing to convert more vehicles to CNG mode and installation of more re-fuelling stations are being planned to ensure supply of CNG to the converted vehicles. Accordingly, government has liberalised the conditions relating to importation of CNG conversion kits etc. so that private entrepreneurs could come forward at ease.

Activities surrounding the promotion of CNG are positive contribution to the economy of the country. Average CNG usage (approx.) is 25.50 MMCM per month which is equivalent to 30.60 million liters of Petrol/Octane. By using CNG, monthly savings in foreign currency worth US$ 32.04 million i.e. yearly savings in foreign currency to the tune of US$ 384.50 million oil import bills could be generated.

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EDUCATION SECTOR OF BANGLADESH

Educational Structure of Bangladesh

Description of the Present Education System in Bangladesh:

The present education system of Bangladesh may be broadly divided into three major stages, viz. primary, secondary and tertiary education. Primary level institutions impart primary education basically. Junior secondary/secondary and higher secondary level institutions impart secondary education. Degree pass, degree honours, masters and other higher-level institutions or equivalent section of other related institutions impart tertiary education. The education system is operationally categorized into two streams: primary education (Grade I-V) managed by the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MOPME)) and the other system is the post-primary education which covers all other levels from junior secondary to higher education under the administration of the Ministry of Education (MOE). The post-primary stream of education is further classified into four

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types in terms of curriculum: general education, madrasah education, technical-vocational education and professional education.

1. General Education:

a) Primary educationThe first level of education is comprised of 5 years of formal schooling (class / grades I - V). Education, at this stage, normally begins at 6+ years of age up to 11 years. Primary education is generally imparted in primary schools. Nevertheless, other types of institutions like kindergartens and junior sections attached to English medium schools are also imparting it.

b) Secondary educationThe second level of education is comprised of 7 (3+2+2) years of formal schooling. The first 3 years (grades VI-VIII) is referred to as junior secondary; the next 2 years (grades IX -X) is secondary while the last 2 years (grades XI - XII) is called higher secondary.

There is diversification of courses after three years of schooling in junior secondary level. Vocational and technical courses are offered in vocational and trade institute/schools. Moreover, there are high schools where SSC (vocational) courses have been introduced.

In secondary education, there are three streams of courses such as, Humanities, Science and Business Education, which start at class IX, where the students are free to choose their course(s) of studies.

High schools are managed either by government or private individuals or organizations. Most of the privately managed secondary schools provide co-education. However, there are many single sex institutions in secondary level education.

The academic programme terminates at the end of class X when students are to appear at the public examination called S.S.C. (Secondary School Certificate). The Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Educations (BISE) conduct the S.S.C. examination. There are seven such Boards at different places in Bangladesh namely: Dhaka, Rajshahi, Jessore, Comilla, Chittagong, Sylhet, and Barisal.

The secondary education is designed to prepare the students to enter into the higher secondary stage. In higher secondary stage, the course is of two-year duration (XI - XII) which is being offered by Intermediate Colleges or by intermediate section of degree or master colleges.

c) Tertiary Education:

i) CollegeThe third stage of education is comprised of 2-6 years of formal schooling. The minimum requirement for admission to higher education is the higher secondary certificate (H.S.C). HSC holders are qualified to enroll in 3-year degree pass courses while for honours, they

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may enroll in 4-year bachelors' degree honours courses in degree level colleges or in the universities. After successful completion of a pass/honours bachelors' degree course, one can enroll in the master's degree course. Master degree courses are of one year for honours bachelor degree holders and 2 years for pass bachelor degree holders. For those aspiring to take up M.Phil and Ph.D courses in selected disciplines or areas of specialization, the duration is of 2 years for M.Phil and 3-4 years for Ph.Ds after completion of master's degree. Higher education is being offered in the universities and post HSC level colleges and institutes of diversified studies in professional, technical, technological and other special types of education.

ii) UniversityThere are 73 universities in Bangladesh. Out of these, 21 universities are in the public sector, while the other 52 are in the private sector. Out of 21 public sector universities, 19 universities provide regular classroom instruction facilities and services. Bangladesh Open University (BOU) conducts non-campus distance education programmes especially in the field of teacher education and offers Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) and Master of Education (M.Ed) degrees. BOU conducts 18 formal courses and 19 non-formal courses. Bangladesh National University mainly functions as an affiliating university for degree and post-graduate degree level education at different colleges and institutions in different field of studies. After successful completion of the specified courses, it conducts final examinations and awards degree, diplomas and certificates to the successful candidates. The degrees are B.A, B.S.S, B.Sc, B.Com (Pass & Honours) M.A, M.Sc, M.S.S and M.Com Moreover, this university also offers LL.B, and other degrees. Bangladesh National University offers part-time training to university teachers.

There is only one medical university namely, "Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University", like other public universities, offers courses on a different system where FCPS Degree is offered in the disciplines of medical education; diploma courses are offered in 12 disciplines. MD degree in 15 subjects and MS courses on 8 subjects are also offered.

2. Madrasah Education:

The old scheme of madrasah education was introduced in 1780 with the establishment of Calcutta Madrasah. In madrasah education, one can learn Islamic religious education along with the general education as complementary to each other in the system of education. The madrasah education system has been continuing with some modifications according to the demand of the time, and many madrasahs grew up in this sub-continent. The government has been providing government grants to the teachers and employees of the non-government madrasahs like other non-government education institutions (schools and colleges). There are five levels in the madrasah education system, namely:

a. Primary level or ebtedayee education This is equivalent to primary level of general education. The first level of madrasah education is comprised of 5 years of schooling (grades I - V). Normally, the children of 6 years of age begin in class 1 and finishes class V at the age of 11 years. Ebtedayee

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education is imparted in independent ebtedayee madrasahs and ebtedayee sections of dhakhil, alim, fazil and kamil madrasahs. It is also imparted in some of the private quami - kharizi madrasahs.

b. Secondary level The secondary level of madrasah education is comprised of 7 (5+2) years of formal schooling. It takes five years in dhakhil stage (S.S.C. level) from grade VI - X while the last 2 years in alim (higher secondary) stage. Dhakhil level education is imparted in dhakhil madrasahs and in dhakhil level of alim, fazil and kamil madrasahs. Alim is equivalent to higher secondary certificate education imparted to alim madrasahs and in alim level of fazil and kamil madrasahs.

There are diversification of courses after three years of schooling in secondary level of education from grade IX of dhakhil stage and grade XI of alim stage. There are streams of courses such as humanities, science and business education, where students are free to choose their courses of studies. Private individuals or private bodies manage all madrasahs of this level. Most of these madrasahs provide co-education. However, there are some single gender madrasahs in this level of madrasah education. There are two public examinations namely; dhakhil and alim after the completion of 10 years of schooling and twelve years of education, respectively. The Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board (BMEB) provides these two certificates.

c. Tertiary level of madrasah educationThis level is comprised of 4 (2+2) years of formal education. The minimum requirement for admission to higher level of madrasah education is the alim (equivalent to HSC) certificates. Alim pass students are qualified to enroll in 2-year fazil education. This level of education is imparted in fazil madrasah and in fazil level of kamil madrasahs. After successful completion of fazil degree one can enroll in 2 -years kamil level education. There are four streams of courses in kamil level education; streams are hadis, tafsir, fiqh and adab. Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board conducts these two fazil and kamil examinations and award certificates. After successful completion of the specified courses one can appear these examinations.

Out of the total kamil the government manages madrasahs only three madrasahs and others are managed by either individual or by private bodies. However, there are few girls' madrasah for girl students.

The Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board has the following functions as regard to madrasah education: grants affiliations to different levels of madrasahs from ebtedayee to kamil; prescribes syllabi and curricula; conducts public examinations (dhakhil to kamil) and scholarship examinations. Besides the public system of madrasah education there are a good number of private madrasahs for the Muslim students, namely: hafizia, qiratia, quami and nizamiah. Most of these madrasahs are residential. These type of madrasah are sometimes called kharizia as these are beyond the purview of the general system of education. Recently, these quami madrasahs have been organized under the umbrella of a private board known as 'Befaqul Madaris or Quami Madrasah Board which constitutes

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curricula and syllabi of quami madrasahs, conducts examinations and awards certificates and degrees.

3. Technical - Vocational

For the students whose interest is not strictly academic may find technical-vocational programmes more interesting and more valuable for their future. Government tries to ensure that the course curriculum should be relevant to students' interest and aspirations while at the same time it should address the needs of the job market.

a. Primary levelThere is no technical-vocational institution in primary level of education. Ebtedayee in the first level (Primary level) of madrasah education has no scope for technical-vocational education. Accordingly, technical - vocational education in Bangladesh is designed in three phases under two major levels of secondary and tertiary level of education.

b. Secondary levelVocational courses starts from secondary level. The certificate courses prepare skilled workers in different vocations starting from ninth grade after completion of three years of schooling in secondary school. At this level the courses are diversified in different vocations spread over 1 to 2 years duration. Recently, 2 years duration vocational courses have been introduced at the higher secondary level in government managed vocational training institute (renamed as Technical School & College). Diploma courses prepare the diploma engineers at the polytechnic institutes. This course spread over 4 years duration after passing the secondary school certification examination. There is a technical education board called Bangladesh Technical Education Board (BTEB), which grants affiliation to the technical institutes. It conducts examinations of the students completing different courses in different vocational and technical education, and awards certificates to the successful candidates.

4. Professional Education

The College of Textile Technology and College of Leather Technology offer four -year degree courses in Textile Engineering and Leather Technology respectively after completing Higher Secondary Education. The minimum requirement to be admitted to teachers training colleges (TTCs) for Bachelor of Education, Bachelor of Physical Education in Physical Education College is graduation degree. Generally, in-service teachers undertake this professional training course along with some unemployed graduates. Professional education also imparted in Medical Colleges, Dental Colleges, Nursing College, Homeopathic Colleges, Law Colleges etc.

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5. Other Types of Education

5.1 Religious and Moral EducationOne of the aims of education is to establish human, cultural and social values in every tier and sphere of individual and national life. Religious and moral education is one of the ways of achieving this aim.

The followers of every religion of the country have the right to learn the main subjects of their respective religions, acquire knowledge about rituals and ceremonies of their respective religion. Religious and moral education is imparted with this end in view.

i) Islamic StudiesIn order to lead life according to the Islamic tenets and regulations, it is indispensable for every Muslim male/female to receive Islamic education and implement these in their day to day life.

ii) Hindu - Religious StudiesBangladesh Sanskrit and Pali Board conducts 3- year course on Sanskrit and religious subjects. These subjects are Adhya in the first year, Madhya in the second year and Upadhi in the third year. Sanskrit language, Prourahitta, Smriti (Hindu law) etc. subjects are included in the courses.

Bangladesh Sanskrit and Pali Board is not an independent or autonomous organization. The Director General of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education by virtue of the post is the Chairman of Sanskrit and Pali Board and Management Parishad. Authorized by the Ministry of Education the Chairman conducts all activities of the Board. An honorary member of the Management Parishad plays the role of Secretary. There are tols (schools for teaching Sanskrit), choupathies and colleges under the control of Bangladesh Sanskrit and Pali Board. The minimum requirement to be admitted in these courses is SSC. After completion of 3-year course, one can get the title "Teertha". For each subject, the 3-year course Adhya, Madhya and Upadhi is to be completed separately.

iii) Buddhist Religious StudiesThe system of Buddhist religious studies and the Buddhist religious language Pali are almost similar to that of Hindu religious studies. There is 3-year title course in Pali and 'Bisharad' is offered in Pali instead of Teertha. Bangladesh Sanskrit and Pali Board conduct traditional system of Pali education. There are about a hundred of Pali Tolls in the country.

iv) Christian Religious EducationTo meet the religious education needs of Christians in Bangladesh, there are Bible schools and intermediate seminaries which enroll students in the SSC; there are also major seminaries and theological colleges where students with HSC are admitted. The successful students are awarded degrees both in Bachelor and Masters in Theology and

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Divinity. These are all run and managed by the Church bodies which cater to the needs of different denominations of Christianity.

EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION & MANAGEMENT

Education Systems in Bangladesh is being managed and administered by two Ministries viz. Ministry of Education (MOE) and Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MOPME) in association with the attached Departments and Directorates as well as a number of autonomous bodies.

Ministry of Education (MOE):

This Ministry is concerned with policy formulation, planning, monitoring, evaluation and execution of plans and programmes related to secondary and higher education including technical & madrasah education. The line directorates, viz.. Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education and Directorate of Technical Education are responsible for management and supervision of institutions under their respective control.

Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE)This Directorate is headed by the Director-General who is responsible for administration, management and control of secondary and higher education including madrasah and other special types of education. It is assisted by sub-ordinate Offices located at the divisional, district and thana levels.

The Directorate of Technical Education (DTE)This Directorate is headed by the Director-General and is responsible for the management and administration of technical & vocational institutions like polytechnics, monotechnics and other similar types of institutes. It has Inspectorate Offices at the Divisional Headquarters.

Bangladesh National Commission for UNESCO (BNCU)This organisation functions as a corporate body within the MOE. This is headed by the Minister of Education as Chairman and the Education Secretary as the Secretary-General. The Commission consists of 69 members constituted by eminent educationists and intellectuals interested in educational, scientific and cultural matters in the country. A senior official designated as Secretary normally heads the Secretariat of the Commission.

Chief Accounts Office (CAO)In pursuance of the Government a separate accounts office under a Chief Accounts Officer (C.A.O) does policy of decentralization the accounting function of the MOE. i) National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB)This Board is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Education (MOE). It performs the responsibility of renewal/modification and development of curriculum, production and distribution of textbooks at primary, secondary and higher secondary levels.

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ii) National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) This Board is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Education (MOE). It performs the responsibility of renewal/modification and development of curriculum, production and distribution of textbooks at primary, secondary and higher secondary levels. iii) Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS)This organization is responsible for collection, compilation and dissemination of educational information and statistics at various levels and types of education. This organization is the Apex Body of the Educational management Information System (EMIS) of the country. It is also the National Coordinator of RINSACA (Regional Informatics for South & Central Asia). Recently it has been assigned with the important task of selection. Processing and computerization of data necessary for awarding government subvention to all the private education institutions. iv) Directorate of Inspection and Audit (DIA)This Directorate is headed by the Director and is responsible for inspection and audit aimed at improving the standard of education of the institutions at the secondary level. Further more, a number of autonomous bodies have a share in the administration of education. These are: i) University Grants Commission (UGC)The University Grants Commission is responsible for co-ordinating activities of the universities and distributing government grants of them. ii) National UniversityThis is an Affiliating University responsible for academic control of all the affiliated colleges offering courses in Degree Pass, Honours and Masters and for conducting Bachelor Degree and Master's examinations. iii) Education BoardsSeven Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education are responsible for conducting the SSC and HSC level public examinations. iv) Madrasah Education BoardThis Board is responsible for conducting public examinations from Dakhil to kamil levels. v) Technical Education BoardThis Board is entrusted with the task of conducting certificate and diploma examinations in technical education.

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PRIMARY EDUCATION

Table 1: Number of Primary Schools, Teachers and Enrolment-2005:

Type of School Institution No. of Teacher Enrolment

Govt. Primary School 37672 162084 9483891

Registered Non-Govt. Primary School

19682 76566 3572686

Non-Registered Non-Govt. Primary School

946 3456 158059

Other Primary Level Institution 22097 102683 3169081

Total (Primary) 80397 344789 16225658

SECONDARY EDUCATION

Table 2: Number of Secondary School, Teachers and Enrolment by Area/Location – 2005:

Area/ Location No. of School No. of Teacher Enrolment

All Area 18500 238158 7398552

Rural 15973 190214 5951058

Urban 2527 47944 1447494

Metropolitan Cities 717 18127 488323

Dhaka City 370 11941 286459

COLLEGE EDUCATION

Table 3: Number of College, Teacher and Enrolment by Area/Location- 2005:

Area/ Location No. of College No. of Teacher Enrolment

All Area 3150 90401 1367246

Rural 2155 56516 529312

Urban 995 33885 837934

Metropolitan Cities 270 9403 306755

Dhaka City 173 5674 161222

UNIVERSITY EDUCATION

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Table 4: Number of Universities, Teachers and Enrolment by management:

Year Management No. of University No. of Teachers Enrolment

2001Public 17 5241 92562

Private 22 2205 27245

Total 39 7446 119807

2002Public 17 5467 92152

Private 41 2948 34432

Total 58 8415 126564

2003Public 21 6101 104736

Private 52 4543 44604

Total 73 10644 149340

2004Public 21 6462 112327

Private 53 4883 70589

Total 74 11345 182916

2005Public 21 6852 115929

Private 53 3487 91648

Total 74 10339 207577

Note: (1) Two public universities i.e. National University and Open University are non- teaching universities. Enrolments of these universities are not included.

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TECHNICAL & VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

Table 5: Number of Institutions, Teachers and Enrolment by type & management -2005:

Types of Institution No. of Institute No. of Teacher Enrolment

Polytechnic Institute (Govt.) 37 1189 17836

Polytechnic Institute (Non- Govt.) 97 465 9682

Technical College (Govt.) 64 792 8548

Commercial College (Govt.) 16 68 3683

Glass & Ceramic Institute (Govt.) 1 10 174

Graphic Arts Institute (Govt.) 1 16 255

Survey Institute (Govt.) 2 17 557

Technical Training Centre(Govt.) 13 359 4867

Textile Institute (Govt.) 6 45 856

Textile Vocational Centre (Govt.) 28 331 5097

Agricultural Training Institute (Govt.)

12 112 7103

Agricultural Training Institute (Non- Govt.)

47 150 7285

SSC (Voc) (Non- Govt.) 1224 7511 98458

HSC (B. Management) (Non- Govt.)

1180 6120 79935

Total 2728 17185 241336

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PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

Table 6: Number of Professional Education Institutions, Teachers and Enrolment by Type & Management -2005:

Type of Institution No. of Institutions

Teachers Enrolment

Leather Technology College (Govt.) 1 15 435

Textile Technology College (Govt.) 1 31 628

Law College (Non- Govt.) 70 625 17787

Medical College (Govt.) 15 1218 11731

Dental College (Govt.) 1 56 358

Dental College (Non- Govt.) 8 198 782

Nursing College (Govt.) 1 18 252

Homeopathic College (Govt.) 1 27 486

Homeopathic College (Non- Govt.) 29 442 14684

Unani/Ayurvedic College (Govt.) 2 32 312

Unani/Ayurvedic College (Non-Govt.)

14 124 1288

Nursing Training Institute (Govt.) 39 232 3324

Nursing Training Institute (Non-Govt)

5 29 515

Art College (Non- Govt.) 7 54 407

Music College (Non- Govt.) 2 20 120

Total 223 4152 60063

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AGRICULTURE SECTOR OF BANGLADESH

Bangladesh Agriculture at a Glance:

Total family : 17,600,804

Total farm holding : 15,089,000

Total area : 14.845million hectare

Forest : 2.599 million hectare

Cultivable land : 8.44 million hectare

Cultivable waste : 0.268 million hectare

Current fellow : 0.469 million hectare

Cropping intensity : 175.97%

Single cropped area : 2.851 million hectare

Double cropped area : 3.984 million hectare

Triple cropped area : 0.974 million hectare

Net cropped area : 7.809 million hectare

Total cropped area : 13.742 million hectare

Contribution of agriculture sector to GDP : 23.50%

Contribution of crop sector to GDP : 13.44%

Manpower in agriculture : 62%

Total food crop demand : 23.029 million metric ton

Total food crop production : 27.787 million metric ton

Net production : 24.569 million metric ton

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Introduction:

The economy of Bangladesh is primarily dependent on agriculture. About 84 percent of the total population live in rural areas and are directly or indirectly engaged in a wide range of agricultural activities. Agriculture contributes about 32 percent to the country's GDP, about 23 percent of which is contributed by the crop sector alone. About 63 percent of the labor force is employed in agriculture with about 57 percent being employed in the crop sector.

The scope of modern agriculture has been widened significantly. Although agriculture used to be originally defined as the cultivation of land for producing crops only, now-a-days, any applied activity through proper utilization of natural resources which relates to the production, development, preservation, processing, marketing and extension of not only crops but also other agricultural commodities such as fish, meat, eggs, forest products, etc. is universally accepted within the purview of agriculture. According to the above definition, crop production, animal husbandry, fisheries, forestry, etc. are integral components of agriculture. But, crops undoubtedly constitute the largest and most important sector of Bangladesh agriculture. Although overall agriculture encompasses the development of crops, livestock, fishery, environment and forestry, separate policies on fisheries, livestock, as well as environment and forestry have already been formulated by the respective ministries. In this perspective, Ministry of Agriculture has formulated this policy document in order to provide proper guidelines for various development activities relating to crops which are the largest sector of agriculture. As expected, policies related to crop production and marketing together with minor irrigation, seeds, fertilizers and agricultural credit got prominence in the document. Since crop sector plays the major role in Bangladesh agriculture and gets the top most importance in various agriculture related programmes of the government, this policy document for the development of crop sector is, therefore, titled as the National Agriculture Policy.

In Bangladesh, it is possible to reduce rural poverty and raise the living standard of common people by establishing agriculture as a profitable sector. It is, therefore, necessary to reorganize and develop the agricultural production system into a more dynamic and commercially profitable sector. In this context, the primary goal of the National Agriculture Policy is to modernize and diversify the crop sector, in other words the entire agricultural system, through initiation and implementation of a well-organized and well-coordinated development plan.

The following opportunities and constraints prevailing in the agriculture sector have been taken into consideration with a view to framing and implementing an effective agriculture policy:

Opportunities

Agriculture sector is the single largest contributor to GDP. Crop production system is highly labor intensive and there is an abundance of

labor supply in the country.

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Agriculture is the largest source of employment for skilled and unskilled labor. Favorable natural environment generally exists throughout the year for crop

production. Wide range of bio-diversity exists for different crops. Different crops and agricultural commodities are the main sources of nutrition,

including protein, minerals and vitamins. Agricultural commodities have comparatively higher value added than non-

agricultural commodities.

Agricultural land:

The total land area of Bangladesh is about 14.4 million ha, of which about 66.6% is available for cultivation. Depending on the flooding depth, the land is categorized as highland (20%), medium highland (35%), medium lowland (20%), lowland (8%) and very lowland (1%). Based on physical environment which are relevant to land use, the land is divided into 30 agroecological zones and 88 sub-regions.

All land areas are not suitable for all types of crops. Seasonally flooded land is suitable for rice cultivation but the use of HYVs is limited to areas with relatively shallow flood depth during the kharif season. Deep flooding for long periods limits land use to a single low yielding, deep-water rice crop. Most upland crops are grown in well-drained land. Boro is planted in poorly drained soils throughout the dry (rabi) season where irrigation can be provided and where no flooding will occur before the harvest of the crop.

Agricultural land use in coastal areas is limited to wet season cropping because of high dry season soil salinity and lack of suitable quality irrigation water. Cropping intensities, therefore, are low in coastal areas. Intensive cropping with HYVs is commonly practiced under high to medium highland with assured good quality irrigation water. Total cropped area is about 13.4 million ha, with more than 170% cropping intensities. Areas under single, double, and triple cropping are 3.5, 3.7 and 0.99 million ha, respectively. Rice alone covers about 80% of the total cropped area, of which HYV's share is about 50%.

Agricultural land is fragmented into small pieces because of the large number of farm holdings. Total number of farm holdings is about 19 million; the average size of a holding is about 0.5 ha. In form, each holding consists of a few pieces of land which generally range from 0.1-0.2 ha

Production of major crops:

Bangladesh is endowed with a climate favorable for the cultivation of a wide variety of both tropical and temperate crops. Though nearly 100 different kinds of crops are presently grown in Bangladesh, rice is the principal one which grows in all the three crop growing seasons of the year and covers about 79 percent of the total cropped area of about 13.4 million ha. High yielding varieties cover more than 50 percent of the total rice area. Other important crops are wheat, jute, potato, oilseeds, pulses, tobacco, cotton,

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sugarcane, fruits, and vegetables. Crops in Bangladesh are grown both under rainfed and irrigated conditions. However, rainfed agriculture is dominant, since nearly 70 percent of the net sown area is dependent upon rain as a source of water for crop production. Traditional practices, local varieties, and low levels of inputs and management are associated with rainfed agriculture. Productivity in general is low, and year to year fluctuation in production is large. Both moisture deficiency and excesses of rain contribute to instability in agricultural production.

Irrigated agriculture is usually associated with improved technologies like HYV's, high fertiliser doses, and improved management practices. Consequently, the productivity of irrigated agriculture is high, and more or less stable with an assured water supply.

Crop Production Policy:

Although the intensification of food grain production, especially rice-based production system is apparently profitable from the farmers’ point of view, this approach has appeared to be harmful in protecting the land productivity. At present, rice covers about 75 percent of the cultivated land in Bangladesh. Area coverage by other crops are as follows: pulses (4.64%), wheat (3.92%), oilseeds (3.77%), jute (3.71%), sugarcane (1.23%), potato (1.11%), fruits (0.84%) and vegetables (1.39%). The production system dominated by a single crop (i.e. rice) is neither scientific nor acceptable from the economic point of view. It is, therefore, necessary to increase the cultivation and production of other crops. However, considering the increasing demand for food grains and with a view to ensuring food security, production of rice will continue to get priority in the food grain production programs. In order to increase rice production, supportive programs will be taken to raise per hectare yield through the use of modern technology and improved cultural practices along with the increased use of HYV seeds.

In Bangladesh, only 4.14 percent of net cultivable land remains as current fallow which means that there is hardly any scope for increasing cultivable land. Currently, cropping intensity is around 185 percent. Thus, the only possible option for increasing agricultural production is to increase both the cropping intensity and yields simultaneously. In this respect, policies adopted by the government are to:

Take supportive programs for inter-cropping in a field instead of single cropping; and

Take appropriate measures in reducing the gap between potential yield and farmers’ realized yield of different crops to raise the present level of production significantly.

Crop diversification is one of the major components of crop production policy. For the overall development of crop sector, special emphasis will be given to crop diversification program under the crop production policy. The government policies in this respect are as follows:

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Area under wheat has meanwhile reached at 0.8 million hectare. Given the potential for expanding wheat acreage, efforts will continue to encourage farmers to grow more wheat.

The production of maize has shown prospective results in last two years. Maize has also gained popularity as human food side by side with the poultry feed. Public sector procurement of maize has been introduced like rice and wheat in order to encourage farmers in maize cultivation. The efforts for increasing area and production of maize will be strengthened.

The program for increasing area and production of other crops, e.g., potato, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits and spices will gradually be extended under the crop diversification program.

Production of different cash crops including jute, cotton will be increased and efforts will be made to expand their multiple uses.

Special development programs will be taken with a view to increasing production of potential crops suitable for the coastal areas and the hill tracts.

As a matter of fact, increased crop production depends on good quality seeds, efficient irrigation management, and use of balanced fertilizers and availability of credit in time. In accordance with the free market economy, the important task of agricultural input distribution has largely been shifted to the private sector. Despite its beneficial effects in general, the privatization process has given rise to considerable inefficiency in some cases, such as, marketing and distribution of minor irrigation equipment and fertilizers. It is alleged that the privatization process has also been accompanied by non-availability, price rise, smuggling and quality degradation of fertilizers. Under this situation the government will seek to:

establish and consolidate the distribution system for irrigation equipment, fertilizers, seeds and credit in the light of farmers’ need; and

Ensure responsibility and accountability of the private sector through strengthening of the relevant legal framework and its enforcement.

The production of crops, especially aman crop is heavily damaged every year due to the inadequate soil moisture regime prevailing in drought affected areas. To combat this situation government has adopted the following policies:

Supplementary irrigation will be ensured in severe and extremely severe drought affected areas.

Location specific (including hill tracts) suitable crops will be identified with respect to technological and economic parameters and appropriate strategies will be pursued for cultivating those crops.

Measures will be taken to minimize post-harvest losses by introducing appropriate technologies.

Since agricultural production is very expensive and risky, often it is not possible for the farmers to grow crops profitably at the individual level due to the shortage of required labor and capital. Therefore, government will encourage the formation of self-motivated cooperatives for producing and marketing agricultural commodities which should ideally

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succeed in mobilizing adequate resources (including labor and capital) for more production, income and equity.

Role of Agriculture in Bangladesh Economy:

The economy of Bangladesh is primarily dependent on agriculture. About 84 percent of the total population live in rural areas and are directly or indirectly engaged in a wide range of agricultural activities. The agriculture sector plays a very important role in the economy of the country accounting for 31.6 percent of total GDP in 1997-98 at constant (1984-85) prices. The agriculture sector comprises crops, forests, fisheries and livestock. Of the agricultural GDP, the crop sub-sector contributes 71 per cent, forest 10 per cent, fisheries 10 percent and livestock 9 per cent. The sector generates 63.2% percent of total national employment, of which crop sectors share is nearly 55 %. Agricultural exports of primary products constituted 10.4% of total exports of the country in 1997-98. In the past decade, the agriculture sector contributed about three percent per annum to the annual economic growth rate.

The agriculture sector is the single largest contributor to income and employment generation and a vital element in the country’s challenge to achieve self-sufficiency in food production reduce rural poverty and foster sustainable economic development. The Government has therefore accorded highest priority to this sector to enable the country to meet these challenges and to make this sector commercially profitable.

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CHAPTER THREE

“WEAKNESS”

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POVERTY IN BANGLADESH

Poverty is an economic condition in which one is unable to enjoy a minimum standard of living. It is a state of existing in amounts (of earnings or money) that are too small to buy the basic necessities of life. The visible effects of poverty are malnutrition, ill health, poor housing conditions, and illiteracy. The impoverished people suffer from unemployment, underemployment and lack of access to resources that restrict their opportunities to earn living.

A simple unidimensional definition of poverty followed in Bangladesh during the 1980s was the level of food consumption that provides calories of energy below what was required. Indirect estimates of the proportion of people in poverty were made according to the following method. First, a bundle of food providing the specified level of nutrition (2,112 kcalories and 58 grammes of protein per capita per day) was identified based on a compromise between cost and consumer preference. Next, the families with a per capita income below 1.25 times the cost of the specified food bundle were classified as moderately poor, and families with per capita income below 85% of the threshold income for moderate poverty as extremely poor. This method was applied basically for measuring the incidence of poverty in rural areas. For urban areas, the threshold level of calorie consumption for measuring the incidence of poverty was slightly higher. Also the threshold level of calories per person per day was changed in different times under different policy considerations. The data used for estimates on incidence of poverty in this methodology are generated by Household Expenditure Surveys (HES) conducted periodically by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

According to the BBS estimates, people living under the poverty line in rural areas in 1995-96 accounted for 47.1% and rural people in extreme poverty ie, those living under hardcore (absolute) poverty line comprised 24.6%. The corresponding figures for urban areas were 49.7% and 27.3% in that year. BBS in 1995 used a 'Cost of Basic Needs' method to measure the incidence of poverty in Bangladesh and identified two layers - the poor and the absolutely poor. According to this method, 35.6% of the country's population was absolutely poor and the poor accounted for 53.1%. A multi-dimensional approach to poverty takes into account a range of quality of life variables such as nutrition, health and sanitation, security, housing, access to safe drinking water, education, life expectancy, access to resources, participation and institutional capacity to cope with crisis. In 2000, Bangladesh was ranked 132nd in terms of these and other related parameters integrated into human development index (HDI).

Continued poverty in Bangladesh may be attributed to many factors including population pressure, limited per capita natural resource endowment, illiteracy, extremely small amount of per capita arable and forest land, poor health and sanitation services, environmental degradation, deforestation, excessive dependence on agriculture, natural calamities, large-scale deprivation of the women folk, and ill governance.

Following the Partition of Bengal in 1947, the government of Pakistan adopted a policy of discrimination against East Pakistan. It patronized role of private sector in

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development in West Pakistan, for which it also used more of the resources of the whole country, while development in East Pakistan remained dependent mainly on public sector with disproportionately smaller allocations. Industrialisation in West Pakistan took place at the cost of deprivation of the province in the East, which continued to have an economy based largely on traditional agriculture. In 1958, the income of an average individual of East Pakistan was 74% of that of an average one of West Pakistan.

East Pakistan demonstrated a long-term poverty trend, which extended in independent Bangladesh, too. In 1985, the income of an average Bangladeshi was 40% of the income of a Pakistani, 19% of that of a Thai and 7% of that of a South Korean. There is another more remarkable aspect of the long-term trend in poverty in Bangladesh, a large proportion of the population at the lower end of the income distribution scale of the level of living today is substantially below what it was 50, 100, and 150 years ago. In 1830s, the agricultural wage rate was 6 kg of rice. In 1880s, it was slightly over 5 kg. In 1930s a day's agricultural wage could buy 5.5 kg of coarse rice and the figure was almost the same even in the beginning of the 21st century. But the terms of trade between industry and agriculture within the economy deteriorated for a farmer or an agricultural labor implying that an average person in rural Bangladesh is worse off today as compared to the earlier periods.

Much of the sufferings of the people of Bangladesh are associated with the devastation caused by the war of liberation in 1971. At least one third of the national wealth of Bangladesh was damaged in one year and the economy faced severe difficulties in its aftermath. The nation, although with the help of foreign aid, had to bear the cost of rehabilitation of ten million refugees and twenty million internally displaced people. The global economic crisis, the price-hikes of food, fuel and fertilizer and increasing burden of the deficits in balance of payments hit the economy very hard. Crop failure and disruptions in flow of food aid to the country in 1974 aggravated the situation and pushed the country to near-starvation. The process of pauperization was intensified and according to some estimates, people below the poverty line in Bangladesh reached 83% in 1975. In 1981-82, the figure was 74% and only later, the incidence of poverty started to decline. The economy, however, was in stagnation and suffered a new setback because of the damages caused by devastating floods of 1987 and 1988. The bumper crop harvests following the floods contributed to a high growth rate in 1988-89 and in the successive 2-3 years although there had been no sustained improvement in the poverty situation.

In the 1990s, millions of people faced the dehumanizing effects of acute material scarcity because of inconsistent distribution and under-utilization of land, lack of command of the poor over land and non-land resources, technological backwardness, disparity in income distribution and political upheaval. With a per capita income of approximately $386 (1999-2000), Bangladesh remains one of the poorest, most densely populated, and least developed nations especially characterized by pervasive poverty in both rural and urban areas. Nearly half of the country's population lives below the poverty line. Majority of its people lives in rural areas where problems of inequality and unemployment are growing rapidly. Gini ratios in rural and urban areas in constant 1963/64 prices were 0.340 and

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0.375 respectively in 1973/74, 0.362 and 0.365 in 1985/86, and 0.384 and 0.444 in 1995/96.

As the economy of the country is predominantly rural, the government of Bangladesh had been undertaking and implementing rural development and poverty alleviation activities since long. These activities include different sectoral and programme components such as rural co-operatives, credit, irrigation, livestock and fisheries development, rural industries, area development, infrastructural development, input distribution and training. Rural development programmes was given importance in all five-year plans in varying degrees to promote overall development of the rural poor.

Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB) as the major government agency undertook a series of rural development programmes with the objective of reducing poverty through village-based co-operatives, human resources development, expanded irrigation schemes, improvement of physical infrastructure, increase in agricultural production, and creation of employment opportunities for the rural poor. Some of the poverty alleviation programmes implemented in the government are establishment of cluster villages (1988-93), institutionalization of vulnerable group development project (1990-92), implementation of Upazila Resource Development & Employment Project (URDEP), skill development training and assistance for self employment.

Government agencies such as the ministry of health and family welfare, BSCIC, department of social services, directorate of women affairs, local government engineering department, directorate of agriculture, directorate of livestock, and department of fisheries also have a large number of different poverty alleviation projects. Moreover, non-government organisations (NGOs) run a remarkable number of target-oriented programmes and projects to improve the socio-economic conditions of small and marginal farmers, assetless poor and distressed women. Notable among these programmes are the group-based microcredit programmes of grameen bank, brac, asa, proshika and other local and foreign NGOs, the government initiated programmes like Swanirvar Bangladesh and Small Farmers Credit Project and donor funded special projects like Rural Finance Experimental Project, Bangladesh Swiss Agricultural Project and NORAD projects for small entrepreneurship development.

Also there are some traditional but less focused programmes of poverty alleviation in the country. These are food for work programme, Food for Education, Pension for Elderly People, Vulnerable Group Development, Housing for the Poor and Homeless and the programme of providing insecticides and high yield variety of seeds to rural farmers. The government has undertaken development initiatives to expand the area of non-agricultural activities in order to create more employment opportunities. All these have to some extent increased the entitlement of the poor, their social and economic awareness and empowerment. These programmes, however, had contributed little to improve the poverty situation in the country. The BBS revealed that the incidence of poverty at the national level was 47% in 1996 and could be reduced to 44.7% in 1999. Poverty alleviation, therefore, remains a challenge requiring a proper planning to combat it and a high level of commitment to implement the plans with skill and integrity.

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LOW LITERACY RATE

The literacy rate in Bangladesh is very low, with significant disparity between female and male literacy rates. However, with the inception of Universal Primary Education program, the literacy rates have been going up. The education system is broken down into 4 levels, primary from grades 1 to 5, secondary from grades 6 to 10, higher secondary from from grades 11 to 12, and tertiary.

In the 1990s there were about 50,000 primary schools enrolling over 50 million students. There were about 9000 secondary institutions. The five years of lower secondary (grades six through ten) concluded with a secondary school certificate examination. Students who passed this examination proceeded to two years of higher secondary or intermediate training, which culminated in a higher secondary school examination after grade twelve. Higher secondary school was viewed as preparation for college rather than as the conclusion of high school. Development efforts in the late 1980s included programs to provide low-cost vocational education to the rural populace.

In Bangladesh the overall literacy rate (7 years and above) is about 44.3 per cent (1995), where the female literacy rate is 28.5 percent and the male literacy rate is 50.4 percent. The gap of literacy rate between the urban and rural areas is very wide - 36.6 percent in rural and 63.0 percent in urban areas.Access to primary education over the last 20 years has increased steadily. The gross enrolment rate has risen from nearly 60 percent in 1980 to 73 percent in 1990 and 96.5 percent in 2000. In absolute numbers, in the last two decades, primary education enrolment has more than doubled from 8.2 million to 17.6 million. The current estimate of net enrolment rate has also narrowed to a ratio of 51 to 49 between boys and girls. The rate of dropout in primary school has gone down from 60 percent I 1990 to 35 percent in 2000. The achievement in enrolment has been made possible by legislative support, provision of physical facilities massive social mobilization and increased to 62,117 in 2000 of which, government primary schools were 37,677 (61 percent of total primary schools). Over 15,000 full primary schools have been added since 1990. This increase reflected government’s policy to establish school in unschooled areas with participation. In addition, full or partial primary level education is also offered in High Schools, Madrasahs, Kindergartens, Satellite Schools, etc. The number of these institutions was 14,692 in 2000.

The rate of adult literacy in Bangladesh according to population census was 25.8 per cent in 1974, which increased to 29.2 per cent in 1981 and to 35.3 percent in 1991. The inter-census average annual literacy growth rates were 1.78 per cent (1974-81) and 1.92 percent (1981-91), while the population growth rates were 2.35 per cent and 2.17 per cent respectively.

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CORRUPTION

Since independence in 1971, Bangladesh very unfortunately witness rise of corruption and political notoriety in the society, irrespective of whichever party or regime came in power.

When a political system is corrupt, not only the political leaders are benefited, the benefits may go to the political cadres of all strata of the parties, especially the party in power.

The party leaders attain the higher post in the government, assume greater responsibility, and enjoy more privileges. The party cadres at different level also share the privileges. They get the contracts; get the tenders, selected for employment, preferred for admission, promotion, training at home and abroad.

Beaucracy is also benefited by corruption. They also took the advantages of corruption in the political system. They take undue promotion, unhealthy privileges and participate in underhand negotiations. The government employs to the lowest level take the advantage of the system.

The businessmen also take the privilege of the corrupt system. They procure orders in illegal ways, bypass taxes, compromise with the quality of goods and of works, they patronize the parties and take advantage in exchange. They themselves enter into politics, purchase the seats and purchase the voters.

The media also compromise and they don´t maintain the neutrality and they speak in the light of their political affiliation.

The Judiciary is also afflicted. The appointment is compromised. The promotion is manipulated. They lost their judgment and they give verdict in favour of their political interest.

The universities become sit of politics rather the seat of academic exercise. The teachers are more interested in discussing politics than principles. Getting good score in exams is more a matter of political connection than a matter of merit. The recruitment in faculty is also dictated by political menuaver than academic excellence.

After 1/11, when the present interim started arresting the politicians, most of them were from BNP, AL appreciated the move of the new government. When the CTG started arresting a few leaders of AL, AL tried to explain to the public that government is trying to balance the sheet. BNP took the move as an attempt by the new government to crush the party.

General public was also under the illusion that the new government is more anti-BNP than anti-AL. The illusion was created more because of the speeches of the Chief of

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Army where he expressed his intention to declare Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the Father of the Nation and set the history in its true form.

The new government continued its arrest spree and more and more AL leaders were arrested along with BNP leaders, few businessmen and some beaucrates. Government reiterated its stand that it is against all sorts of corruption by the politicians or by anybody else. As the advisers told the politicians are the leaders of the country, they are mainly responsible for the corruption prevailed in the country and they had created the environment for others to compel to adopt the corruption for them.

Government gradually increased its pressure on more powerful two of the former female Prime Ministers, as well as sons of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia were also arrested. .

Quickly after arrest of Awami League leader and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, most of the senior leaders in that party started discovering conspiracy theory behind such arres and trial.

Praising Bangladesh´s interim government´s anti-corruption drive, American commentator Emily Wax wrote an opinion editorial in prestigious newspaper The Wahington Post on October 3, 2007.

Wax wrote, "corruption was ingrained in social fabric that even the Bureau of Anti-corruption accepted a bribe and Bangladesh persistently ranked top most corrupt country in the world."

He continued, "Now, two former Prime Ministers, rival politicians who have dominated the countries politics for 16 years are behind the bar. They are awaiting trials for siphoning off millions of dollars from the Government. Also incarcerated on graft, tax evasion and corruption charges are 170 members of the ruling elite, along with an estimated 15000 political underdogs, local government officials and businessmen."

Commenting of massive arrest of politicians and others on corruption charges, Emily Wax wrote, "the arrests this year are unprecedented for South Asia Region, a reputation for widespread impunity when it comes to thievery in Government corruption. It is completely unthinkable in SA that a country´s demigods are now in jail."

Quoting Iftekher Jaman, Executive Director of Transparency International, Bangladesh chapter, Wax wrote, "For most people what matters is daily life and corruption is so deep rooted her that there has to be a painful transition. But in the long terms, it has to happen´."

Bangladesh is in 7th position in Transparency International Corruption Perception Index [CPI] report for 2006-2007 with the score at 2. Previous year Bangladesh was in 3rd position with the same score. Before that from 2001- 2005 Bangladesh had consecutively in no 1 position for 5 years. In 1996, Bangladesh had score 1.2. It takes 10 years for

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Bangladesh to come to the score 2 where score 3 is considered for a country to be against corruption. Among the Saarc Countries Bangladesh is again at the bottom. Then Pakistan with 2.4, Nepal 2.5, SriLanka 3.2, India 3.5, Bhutan 5.0. On the better end, at the top are Denmark, Finland, NeoZeland with 9.4 score, Singapure and Sweden 9.4 score, UK 8.4 and USA 7.2.

Transparency International report is prepared by the Berlin – based Transparency International. The CPI of 2007 was prepared from the 14 surveys conducted by internationally renowned 10 independent bodies.

According to various scoops in local and international media, Bangladesh may again get into the top of the most corrupt nations in the TI report of 2007-2008, as because silent corruption has increased significantly during past sixteen months. There are even allegations of high profile corruption in various sectors as well as extraction of ransom from the innocent people either by the members of law enforcing agencies or their agents. But, some of the critics, challenging the legitimacy of Transparency International report say, this prestigious organization is not represented by neutral people at least in a number of countries. Many of the TI boses in different countries belong to so-called civil society, which are mostly packed by either oxthodox opinists or partisan analysts. Whatever the argument may be, it is well understood that TI reports are already recognized by various governments in the world as genuine source of information. There are even allegations that mostly syndicates of corrupts are spending substantial amount of money in defaning Transparency International in order to altimately supress the notorious face of corruption. For Bangladesh, Transparency International report turned one of the mightiest tools for political parties in attacking opponents with the published fact sheet on rise or level of corruption. It was even observed that people and party involved in one of the most corrupt governments in Bangladesh are regularly quoting TI report on Bangladesh to show that during their tenure corruption didn´t reach such worrisum status.

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INADEQUACY OF INFRASTRUCTURAL FACILITIES

A survey on business scenario has revealed that business activities in district level are being hampered due to inadequate infrastructure, financing facilities and information.

Industrialisation is not possible without infrastructural development. Developed infrastructure, uninterrupted supply of electricity, export aid scheme, availability of modern technology, trained manpower, increase of assistance to specialised technical personnel and compliance with the buyers' requirements have to be ensured. The main problems of our infrastructure are inadequacy of roads and highways, bridges and culverts, and insufficient supply of electricity and gas in the industrial belts. For the growth of business, we have to build a coordinated system of transportation. Ours is a country of rivers. To utilise this facility, we have to give importance to waterway transportation to increase trade with the neighbouring countries. The railways needs to be improved to facilitate easy transportation of containers between Dhaka and Chittagong. Now only 10 per cent of the containers are transported through the railways. The sea-ports do also need to be equally developed to facilitate trading. Of the total export-import trade, of the country, about 85 per cent are now handled at the Chittagong port. But this port suffers from negligence in loading-unloading and low productivity of the labourers, besides other problems. The problems are caused due to harassment in the name of trade unions. The caretaker government, however, addressed the issue to increase efficiency by about 30 per cent.

The survey also said without giving importance to business concerns in the district towns it is not possible to expedite the economic growth of the country. Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) with the support from Katalyst, a project promoting small and medium enterprises (SMEs), conducted the survey in seven districts -- Bogra, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Faridpur, Jessore, Comilla and Sylhet. Presenting the findings of the survey at a workshop, Executive Chairman of PPRC Hossain Zillur Rahman said the government should reform the SME policy and recognise local businesses as SMEs. The workshop was also attended by Mir Nasir Hossain, president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Shahidul Alam, director general of BIAM, Prof Masuda M Rashid Chowdhury, vice-president of Saarc SME Forum, and Prashant Rana, general manager of Katalyst.

The survey also found that businesses at local level depend on the local government bodies and government institutions for infrastructure facilities, utilities and services that are vital to production, quality control, marketing and overall operation of the enterprises. "But, the government institutions are weak in providing basic services related to business promotion to the enterprises," it said. It also revealed that administration people charged informal fees in issuing licenses and permits and VAT or tax collection. The survey revealed that 30.49 percent units received regular electricity supply while 63.3 percent suffered from frequent power failure. According to the survey, security is quite vulnerable as businesses face rampant theft, robbery, and extortion. Of the total respondents, 86.65 percent want guarantee of security of their businesses.

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While giving opinion on the potentiality of new business in their areas, 49.7 percent of the local entrepreneurs did not find the potentiality 'so bright' while 22.7 percent found it 'fair' and 22.2 percent were silent over the issue, it said.

The entrepreneurs want to see an increase in industrial facilities including infrastructure development, availability of gas and electricity, end to extortion and red tape, reduction of customs duty and availability of industrial capital at lower rates to boost their business, the survey added.

TIME AND COST OVERRUNS

(A) Time Overruns

It has been observed that most of the projects in Bangladesh are not implemented within

the time specified. As a result the benefits of the projects are delayed and in most of the

cases benefits are eliminated. Table 2 reveals the situation in respect of time overruns in

Bangladesh during 1987 88 as per annual review by implementation Monitoring and

Evaluation Division (IMED), Ministry of Planning, Government of Bangladesh.

Table: Time Overruns

Duration of Delay No. of projects

1 – 5 years 96

6 – 10 years 38

11 – 15 years 12

16 – and above years 5

(B) Cost Overrun

Actual costs in most of the cases exceeded the planned costs and as such the benefits of

the projects are out weighted. A situation in respect of the cost overrun in Bangladesh

during 1987-88 as per annual review by IMED is presented by Table-3 below:

Table- Showing Cost overruns

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Cost overruns in % No. of

projects

100 – 200% 17

200 – 300% 7

300 – 400% 6

400 – 500% 1

500 – 600% 2

600 – 700% 3

over 700% 6

It has been observed that time overrun and cost overrun were mainly due to time

consuming and lengthy procedure in project approval; delay in the appointment of project

staff, especially foreign consultants; cumbersome and slow moving procedure for

procurement of materials and services, delay in releasing the fund, delay in the clearance

of imported goods due to cumbersome customs formalities; scarcity of critical

construction materials in the country; lack of cost control, and lack of interagency

co-ordination.

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GOVERNANCE CHALLENGES IN BANGLADESH

1. Confrontational politics: The problem in political governance in Bangladesh mainly has to do with the limited accountability and transparency within the country’s political parties. Lack of democratic processes and values have also given rise to intolerance within and between political parties. Although democracy is firmly entrenched, confrontational politics have been a significant source of potential instability and political uncertainty that has adversely affected Bangladesh’s international reputation and investment climate.

2. Lack of judicial independence: Although the formal structure of the judicial system is in place in Bangladesh, judicial independence has not yet been fully established. Despite completing the legal process, the judiciary is yet to be separated from the executive. The core institutions of formal justice lack independence, and politicization of the justice sector agencies has been one of the key causes for the deterioration of the judicial system; political parties in power have often appointed their loyalists in the judiciary. The political parties, once in power, were unwilling to relinquish their influence over the judiciary and initiate the process of judicial reforms, particularly the separation of the judiciary from the executive.

3. Constraints in the public sector: The performance of Bangladesh’s public service is constrained by

* A top-down culture that leaves little space for mid-level officials to exercise independent authority* Inadequate compensation of public officials* The absence of a system of rewards and penalties* The lack of professional development training and other incentives to improve performance and accountability* The lack of systematic and merit-based policies for recruitment* Inadequate safeguards for actions taken in good faith* Frequent reassignments often driven by political and other considerations* Pressures faced by reform-minded officials in creating space for change in government agencies* A lack of uniform public demand for reforms

4. The lack of progress in administrative governance is made more acute by the failure of successive governments to pursue the reform agenda. The Public Administration Reform Commission and several other studies have identified areas that undermine the efficiency of the bureaucracy. These include

* Outside interference in administrative decision making* Politicization of the civil service* Nepotism and favoritism* A lack of delegated authority to mid-level and local-level public officials* A lack of public scrutiny of public administration

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* A lack of citizens’ demand for improvements in public administration

5. Corruption as a Key Governance Problem: There is unanimous acceptance that the single-most telling indicator of poor governance in Bangladesh over the years has been the high incidence of pervasive corruption, broadly defined. The off-the-record payments by firms cumulatively result in 2–3% of gross domestic product (GDP) being lost annually. A study done by the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute in 2003 found that 60% of big firms surveyed viewed corruption as the top constraint to their work. The 2004 World Development Report stated that the volume of illegal payments by firms is almost 3% of their total sales. These are significant numbers which point to the failure of previous governments to tackle the culture of corruption.

6. The increasing politicization of public institutions is a major constraint. This has led to an erosion of trust in government and political leaders by the citizens. The oversight by the traditional arms of government, the Parliament and the judiciary is weak. The lack of mechanisms for citizens’ voices to be heard is another binding constraint. While the media and NGOs have indeed provided access to citizens to voice their concerns regarding mismanagement and poor service delivery, what is missing is an institutional and formalized mechanism to convey bottom-up concerns of corruption to policy-makers.

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HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN BANGLADESH

The emergence of Bangladesh as an independent state was the result of a fight against violation of human rights in different ways. People's struggle for establishing fundamental rights by brushing aside anomalies is always there in this part of the world. But unfortunately, the polity is yet to overcome the barriers to human rights.

Despite enough potentials for progress, the country is still faced with abject poverty, which is perhaps the most powerful enemy of human rights. Incidences of violence surrounding want and discrimination are common. Instead of being the protector of human rights, the state i.e. the government machinery is playing the role of tyrant. A promising but burdensome population is not in a position to assert the due rights and resist the wrong doing by the violators whoever.

Even after the democratisation process began through a popular upheaval in 1990, the people have to encounter with repressive police force, supremacy of the criminals in many areas, corrupt officials, isolated elected regime, backdated and slow legal system and all that, which are not conducive to having ideal human rights situation.

The human rights phenomenon has also been overwhelmingly circumscribed by extra-territorial actors as well as regional and global hegemony that frustrate people from enjoying their divine rights. It is hardly possible to implement those pro-people policies, which can anyway affect the interests of international players. So, people's aspiration is either suppressed, or they are not allowed to think and speak freely from a paradigm other than that of supranational powers.

With the existing structure favouring the already powerful elite having nexus with the vested quarters hooked into the criminal domain, the people living in suffocating conditions generally cherish mere pious wishes about what good things should be done, no matter whether they understand critical analysis of human rights or not. It is the people or the individuals who are the neglected elements in the established politics and socio-economic activities. Because, they have been treated as subalterns in the domineering rule of the 'descendants' of king or queen in the port-colonial era. The power structure is highly centripetal that does not uphold the true spirit of the populace.

If human rights mean public interest or, say, people-oriented development, this is theoretically guaranteed but pragmatically hindered in the present-day order. The people need freedom to exercise their rights in an egalitarian manner. The process of democratising society has been rather sop polluted that any headway from the plight could not be attained easily. Yet there is ample scope for improvement in the status of human rights, provided the indigenous ideas are really promoted to find out ways and means to correct the situation.

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LAW AND ORDER SITUATION

Bangladesh is abundant with constitutional provisions and statutory laws guaranteeing diverse freedom. However, the existence of a number of repressive laws undermines the 'de jure' pledges of freedom. Sadly, the 'hard earned democracy' has not yet obtained an institutional shape. Bangladesh's politics remain confrontational and inimical to reform. There is no system of accountability within the existing system of governance. The frequent use of the law-enforcing agency for political purposes and the alarming trend of torture, rape and death in the custody of the law enforcers vitiate the democratic regimes. The country's political and legal systems are in a crisis. Criminalisation of politics, political elitism, ignorance of the law, a sense of resigned tolerance from society, corruption in all administrative sectors and strata have all infected Bangladesh. Rampant corruption at all levels of society and government continued to dash hopes for improvement in the human rights situation and to thwart efforts to tackle widespread poverty and political instability. Torture including rape in custody, continued to be reported, and impunity for past human rights violations persisted.

Acts of impunity testify the failure to bring justice those responsible for human rights violations. Impunity can and does occur in various sectors of state life the bureaucracy, the law enforcement agencies and even in the judiciary. All these institutions play a role in the human rights of the citizens of the country - the right to shelter, food, and sanitation, the right to life, liberty and dignity and the right to justice, being some examples. When corruption and impunity are joined hand in hand in these government sectors, the human rights of the citizens are at risk. One example of this is the use of Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which allows police to arrest any person without warrant or a magistrate's permission. There are several conditions and factors attached to this law, but many are arrested every year for no reason at all and have to bribe the police in order to restore freedom.

Bomb Blasts:

One of the newest violations that were faced is the series of bomb blasts that occurred in 2005. Along with this came acts of militancy carried out by an underground group calling themselves Jamaa’tul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), who also claimed responsibility for the blasts. They launched the attack to institute their brand of ‘divine law’ and attacked most of the subordinate courts and the Supreme Court premises to carry home their message that the present man made laws did not give justice top the people and that the present judicial system did not follow ‘religious’ teachings/principles and thus failed to serve common people.In 2006 the Government arrested almost all the leaders of JMB. After several trials various trial courts have found many of the JMB leaders guilty and awarded death sentences. Some of these cases have been confirmed by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court and are pending for execution. The government also arrested their wives and young children, which raised the question of human rights violations from the other end.

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Impunity by Law Enforcement Agencies:

Torturing and killing people by law enforcement agencies are not an unfamiliar phenomenon in South Asia. Bangladeshis experienced such brutality and killing during its struggle for self-determination and liberation in the late 60’s till its freedom in 1971, by the then Pakistani government. Unfortunately, this was repeated in the independent country against political opponents by the Jatiya Rakkkhi Bahini (JRB), which came into force on February 1, 1972, just after the country was liberated on 16 December 1971 and continued operations until October 1975 after the killing of Sheikh Mujibar Rahman, the founder President of Bangladesh in a coup on August 15,1975.The JRB became infamous for extra-judicial executions of about 30,000 leftist opponents (as claimed by the victim organizations) till its absorption into the Army by a gazette notification dated 4 October 1975.In March 2004 the ‘elite force’ of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), was created by amending the Armed Police Battalions Ordinance, 1979 and enacting a new law, namely the Armed Police Battalions (Amendment) Act, 2003. As per the law, it is assigned to investigate any offence on the direction of the government and has exclusive jurisdiction in this regard. It can investigate and work for all security purposes. As an elite law and order enforcement agency it has a special focus on curbing organized crime and eliminating ‘top criminals’. Since the inception of RAB in March 2004, some new words like ‘Crossfire', ‘encounter’ etc. has been introduced in human rights vocabulary. The Government uses the term ‘crossfire’ to mean the death of the apprehended person during gunfights between a criminal group and RAB or police at the time of their intervening acts of duty. Thus the death of the alleged criminal is justified as a result of ‘crossfire’. The term ‘death in encounter’ is used in other countries to mean the same thing, but the term ‘crossfire’ is preferred by law enforcement agencies in Bangladesh. The sinister connotation associated with the word demonstrates utter powerlessness in the face of extra judicial killings taking place in Bangladesh. There are also an alarming number of deaths in RAB custody and few of these can be interpreted as explicitly political. The police have also been killing people in the name of ‘crossfire’ for last several months. According to Odhikar’s documentation, 738 people were reported killed in ‘crossfire’ between June 24, 2004 and December 31, 2006.There is no legal definition for ‘extra-judicial killing’. Death delivered by a member of the law enforcement agency that cannot be accounted by law or the Constitution and therefore, falls outside legal rules or judicial process may be termed ‘extra judicial’, or literally murder by the State agencies. Many of the killings occurred when the alleged criminal or the criminals were in RAB custody. Some people argue that the extra- judicial killing of hardened criminals helps mitigate ‘terrorism’ and improves law an order. They argue that after the formation of RAB and other auxiliary forces like Cheetah and Cobra (of the police), the law and order situation has improved and common people are apparently happy with the outcome. However, there is no systematic study in this regard and the conclusions are drawn mainly from the perception of the urban population and information covered by media.Torture and inhuman treatment by the law enforcers are rampant in the country. Some examples of torture by law enforcers may be quoted. On May 18 evening last, police arrested one Sajidur Rahman from the corner of Markaja Masjid near Gaibandha railway

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station. On May 21, police allegedly found his dead body hanging by a Lungi (traditional Bangladeshi dress worn to cover lower part of the body) from the bars of the window of the custody room. After the incident, a protest rally of the local people was instrumental in the arrest of Investigation Officer (IO) Abu Yusuf. Police beat an old woman to death at Savar in Dhaka on July 2, 2006.Sub-Inspector (SI) Mokhlesur Rahman kicked Nayan Banu to death as she failed to give information about the whereabouts of her son Badsha Mia, allegedly accused in an abduction case.Around twenty people were killed by the law enforcers on January 4 and 23 and April 6 and 13, 2006 at Kansat in Chapainawabgonj as the deceased persons took part in a large demonstration demanding adequate supply of electricity to enable them to cultivate their lands for agriculture purpose. Later Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shahabuddin Khalipha of Shibganj Police Station (PS) was arrested on January 18 last for shooting at people and killing them.

Law enforcers made blanket arrests in connection with bomb blast cases and detained a large number of people. Besides, many men and women are in detention without trial. Mubarak Hossain bin Hashem was sent back home in December 2006 from Guantanamo Bay Prison by the US authorities after he was arrested in 2001 as a terror suspect from Afghanistan and detained there for five years. Immediately on his return to Bangladesh, he was arrested and put in remand for interrogation by the intelligence agencies. Odhikar expresses its concern at such detention in custody for interrogation of a person who spent five years in illegal detention abroad and was released due to efforts of the International Red Cross Society and the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society.Section 54 the Criminal Procedure Code enables police to arrest without warrant on several grounds, one of which is the highly debatable ‘reasonable suspicion’. According to an Odhikar documentation, 220 persons in Kotwali Police Station, 45 in Lalbagh, 33 in Newmarket, 24 in Kamrangir Char, 07 in Hajaribagh, 79 in Dhanmondi, 134 in Ramna and 15 in Shahbagh (New) in Dhaka City were arrested under this legal Section between 01 January – 31 August 2006.It is a fact that criminality is not merely a vice of an individual but has deep social, economic, cultural (that includes law and constitution) and political roots as well. The neo-liberal economic policy of the State denies any role of the state in improving the social and economic reality of their citizens and instead installs market institutions over and above the welfare of the people. Therefore, State is hardly capable to undertake any social and economic policy that could undermine socio-economic basis of criminal behaviour. In the absence of such role, State justifies itself by ensuring ‘security’ of the citizens by dealing criminality in extra-judicial manner. Extra- judicial killings can bring no peace and does not help to eradicate ‘terrorism’. For the human rights defenders it is not enough now to simply oppose extra judicial killings but raise the fundamental concern about the transformed nature of the state internationally, where Bangladesh is only a minor example mirroring the behaviour of the strong global and regional actors.

National Security Law:

The State of Bangladesh has put its people under the threat of national security laws enacted by various governments, which allow police to arrest without warrant in the

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name of curbing militancy and maintaining state security. To add to this, the immediate past government adopted Telecommunication Amendment Law 2006, a telephone tapping law, empowering the security agencies to overhear telephone conversations of ordinary citizens. This law is designed to affect the privacy of conversation and violate civil rights.

ACCESS TO WATER

The issues related to water and irrigation is also major concerns. Privatisation of water and the need to defend community water rights is becoming pressing even for Bangladesh, which is known to be rich in sweet water resources. The deep tube well and irrigated agriculture has created severe environmental and ecological destruction and blamed for the arsenic poisoning of the large number of population. The margin where introduction of technology threatens life and livelihood has not been drawn in constitutional and legal termsThe different dams built in the Indian part of the regional rivers like Farakka and Tipaimukh, have created acute water shortage and drought in many parts of Bangladesh. These dams have cast a direct impact on the irrigation and production of Bangladesh’s agricultural sector. These dams are responsible for an indirect economic war against the life and livelihood of poor and marginalized people in Bangladesh. The more alarming and threatening issue is – the Indian government has planned to build new dams on more rivers through a River Linking Project within the next couple of years. As a ‘growing regional power’ of the South Asia region, India is implementing these projects without consulting its neighbours like Nepal and Bangladesh and also violating the international river laws. This is also an issue of the security of Bangladesh and Nepal, as the small states of the region.

WOMENS RIGHTS

The status of women’s rights has never been even satisfactory in Bangladesh. Women in Bangladesh are exposed to the vulnerability of domestic violence, attacks with acid and other corrosive substances, trafficking, divorce, dowry violence and murder by their husbands and others. A majority of incidents of domestic violence are linked with dowry demands. The Government has encouraged negotiated settlements by amending the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC). Therefore, the possibility of punishment of criminals in cases of repression against women would be less in the future. Recently a High Court Division Bench has set free the accused husband for the murder of his wife, Nilufar, although the trial court earlier sentenced him to life imprisonment.

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SERIOUS BRAIN DRAIN IN BANGLADESH

The term "brain drain" designates the international transfer of resources in the form of human capital i.e., the migration of relatively highly educated individuals from the developing to developed countries.

This phenomenon, in the terminology of development economics refers to the loss of high quality manpower, which was once productively employed in the native country. The last decade has seen an increase in the international mobility of highly skilled, talented individuals in response to the expansion of the knowledge economy accompanying globalization.

This international movement of human capital can be identified, in practice, as the movement of scientists, doctors, educationists, engineers, executives, and other professionals across frontiers. These are people with special talents, high skills and specialized knowledge.

The irony of international migration today is that many people who migrate legally from poor to richer lands are the ones that the Third World Countries can least afford to lose: the highly educated and skilled. Since the great majority of these migrants move on a permanent basis, this perverse brain drain not only represents loss of valuable human resources but could prove to be a serious constraint on the future economic progress of Third World nations.

Expenditure on education in Pakistan and other developed and developing countries: Research undertaken both in developed and developing countries reveals that for an increase in output, the quality of labour is more important than the quantity. A clear picture emerged if one looks at the experience of different countries. No country with educated and technically trained human resource is poor and no country with a predominantly illiterate, untrained human resource is rich.

In general the quality of human resource is much more critical in economic development than the availability of natural resources. Japan is a country which has almost no mineral or energy resources but has high economic productivity because of highly literate, trained and an efficient workforce. Rapid progress of the East Asian countries is largely attributed to their excellent system of education.

Unfortunately, in Pakistan we have not paid due attention to the general education of the masses and as a result, the country is far behind than others of the region in education sector. According to official sources, the current literacy rate in Pakistan is 51.6 per cent where female literacy rate is 39 per cent while that of male is 64. It means that two women out of every three and one man out of every three men are illiterate.

The following table shows the national actual expenditure on education in Pakistan as a percentage of the GDP.

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The present government has realized the importance of education and consequently the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has been established with a view to guiding higher education policy and assisting universities and degree awarding institutes in the pursuit of quality education at the seat of higher learning, both public and private.

Its objective is to work with the academic community for qualitative and quantitative improvement of higher education and to aid in the socio-economic development of Pakistan. Besides, the Education Sector Reforms (ESR) are designed with a view to increasing access, enhancing equity and improving quality at all levels of education.

Developed countries immigration policies: In order to accumulate human capital, many industrialized countries are aiming to attract highly skilled immigrants. Among them are the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia. The policies that encourage such movement target highly trained science and technology personnel, particularly from developing countries.

These trends are likely to have been confirmed in the 1990s in the face of the increasingly "quality-selective" immigration policies introduced in many OECD countries. Since 1984, Australia's immigration policy had privileged skilled workers, with the candidates selected according to their prospective "contribution to the Australian economy".

Canadian immigration policy follows along similar lines, resulting in an increasing share of highly educated people among the immigrants selected; for example, in 1997, 50,000 professional specialists and entrepreneurs immigrated to Canada throughout the world with 75,000 additional family members, representing 58 per cent of the total immigration.

In the US, since the Immigration Act of 1990 - followed by the American Competitiveness and Work Force Improvement Act of 1998 -, the emphasis has been on the selection of highly skilled workers through a system of quotas favouring candidates with academic degrees and/or specific professional skills. For the latter category, the annual number of visas issued for highly skilled professionals (H-1B visas) increased from 48,000 in 1989 to 116,000 in 1999, the totality of this increase being due to immigration from developing countries, especially India.

The latest Gallup survey indicates that not only qualified professionals and university graduates want to leave the country, but even semi-skilled and unskilled workers want to migrate in search of better prospects. About 62 per cent of the adults interviewed for the survey expressed the desire to go abroad to work, while 38 per cent say that they would prefer to settle permanently outside the country. This shows that many Pakistanis are gradually losing faith in the country's economic future.

According to a study the ratio of researchers and scientists, who opted for working in foreign companies, is higher in the research wing and breading and genetics institutions of the agriculture department. In some departments of agriculture research institutes, over 30 per cent seats are vacant, mainly due to the fact that the researchers left the country for

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better opportunities. And, due to ban on recruitments, since 1993, these vacancies could not be filled.

Remittances vs brain drain: No doubt that we are getting foreign remittances as a result of brain drain. But could we think that the money they send could be a better substitute in exchange of the services what they are extending for others and becoming a source of their rapid economic, scientific and technological development. If proper infrastructure is provided to them within the country, Pakistan could earn manifold than the money is received as foreign remittances.

Factors responsible: Economic factor, however, is not the sole factor involved in brain drain. There are also other factors that contribute to the migration of skilled people to developed countries from developing nations. One of the important factors behind the acceleration of brain drain is low income at home. Skilled and educated people expect some kind of reward. But when they get no reward for their hard work and labour, they feel disappointed and frustrated.

The value placed for a scientist with an advanced level degree in Pakistan is Grade 17, with a salary that is even insufficient to meet the basic requirements of a family. Grabbing the opportunity, the advanced countries take away these people by offering them lucrative incentives.

In addition to low economic incentive, promotion process in developing countries is also very slow. It takes them several years to get promotions. Apart from that, mutilation of merit is a routine feature. Non-deserving people bypass the deserving ones. All the frustrated scientists and skilled people feel compelled to leave the native country in search of better opportunities.

In Pakistan's case, professionals who are going abroad are mostly government servants and belong to the scientific community. These are the people who complain about the general attitude of society towards professionals, particularly scientists.

An important determinant of the international migration of scientists and technology experts is the availability of resources to conduct research and higher salary levels for researchers in recipient countries. These are the things that facilitate the experimentation and creative process. Unfortunately, the funds allocated for this purpose in developing countries are very meagre, which often leads to the rusting of intellect. In Pakistan annual average expenditure on education from 1997-98 to 2001-2002 has been 1.7 per cent of the GDP.

The available information shows huge disparities in the distribution of resources for science and technology, between developed economies and developing countries' GDPs. According to UNESCO (2001), the developing countries that account for 78 per cent of world population (and 39 per cent of world GDP) only contributed to 16 per cent of global research and development (R&D) expenditure in 1996-97. In contrast, the

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developed economies with 22 per cent of world population account for some 84 per cent of global R&D expenditure.

One of the major causes of brain drain is the growing frustration among the youth and the non-availability of opportunities in the existing social set-up.

Implications: The implications of the brain drain phenomenon are disastrous. It entails loss of strategic manpower from key positions. An outflow of such manpower creates many dislocations. It seriously affects skill formation and involves the loss of money invested in education and training. The loss of strategic manpower affects education, research & training, infrastructure building, creative talent, present and future technology and the entire intellectual milieu of a country and creates a growth retarding backwash effect.

Trained and skilled people constitute a very scarce resource for poor countries. Losing them sets development back in these countries. In fact, many countries, having lost their best brains to the industrial world, have had to import expensive consultants from abroad. Such a cycle of events sometimes represents a double loss. An economy spends its precious resources to educate and train its people. Losing them to developed countries is a form of reverse foreign assistance, from resource-poor to resource-rich countries.

Another important implication of the brain drain is that investment in education in a developing country may not lead to faster economic growth if a large number of its highly educated people leave the country. Also, efforts to reduce specific skill shortages through improved educational opportunities may be largely futile unless measures are taken to offset existing incentives for highly educated people to emigrate.

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UNEMPLOYMENT IN BANGLADESH

Unemployment is a great concern in Bangladesh. Every year hundreds of thousands student are coming out from college and university. Though it is one of the major responsibilities of the Government to provide job to those young generation but the Government is failed to meet the job demand among the large population. Only a tiny fraction of total jobless is managed by different government offices and private organization but a majority remain unemployed.

Historically for a long time British administration was the main cause of this problem. After ending Mughol regime when British came in Sub continent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh) they started to do business, they exploited the sub-continent. They did not establish any Industry which is helpful to remove the unemployment problem. Though some Industry was made but all of them were placed in Indian Territory. So Bangladesh region was neglected from the British period. After ending British rule in 1947 Pakistan adopted the same rule they established all kinds of Industry in West Pakistan not in East Pakistan. As a result of Pakistani monopoly rule we saw the freedom fighting war in 1971. After nine months continuous war it is divided and named East Pakistan as a Bangladesh.

After 1971 Bangladesh has been facing political crisis badly. As a result no government can take long term massive step to remove the unemployment problem. Within 37 years Bangladesh has experience about eight new governments and two assassination incident at the top level country leader. So now political crisis is one of the major causes of unemployment problem in Bangladesh. Among others two major parties BNP and Aowamileague are busy to gain only political power. None of these parties are trying to do anything to solve the country’s major problem “UNEMPLOYEMENT PROBLEM”

Many Asian developing countries are the bright example in the World who is successful to remove the unemployment problem successfully. Korea, Malaysia, Singapore are the newest of them. They are growing rapidly because there is no Political crisis. Government assured the foreign investor about political calm environment. So many American, European and Japanese company are investing in those regions spontaneously. As a result they are developing very fast. Bangladesh Government and political leader should learn from those Asian countries.

Recent attitude and activity of political parties are very hateful to the common people. By election if a party goes to power then another party cannot accept that, they do not go to parliament they do not express constructive opinion in the parliament which is helpful for common people. But they should not do it. May be there is some discrimination of the election result but there are overall acceptation of the common people. To think about greater welfare of the country they should keep patient, they should support the Government they should assist the Government to take the long term strategy to remove the unemployment problem.

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If we watch towards Japan, Korea, Malaysia what we will see? Due to Industrialization they have changed a lot. Without Industrialization no nation can expect strong economic basement and solution of unemployment problem. After political settlement the first and foremost thing for Bangladesh is, to build up industry to remove the unemployment problem. If they can assure the political calm and stable situation, then foreigner will come to invest in manufacturing sector to build new industry. In this respect Transportation, Road and Highway, Electricity should be reconstructed strongly otherwise everything will be failed.

Specially Automobile and Electronics Industry are the major items to intensify a country’s overall financial condition. Most of money is spent in these two sectors. Lot of population can be employed in these industry. Because by surrounding a automobile or electronics industry hundreds of supporting small industry will be built up. As a result a lot of people will be employed. In this respect Government should adopt a strong and strict policy about importing used car. After establishing automobile industry they should ban import of all used car. Used car import is destroying the environment and employment opportunity.

To intensify the overall industrialization our Ambassadors who are employed in different countries specially Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore can help the Government to adopt strong, effective, active and successful policy. Because they are well known with those countries environment, government and people. They have practical and expert feeling about the development policy in different sector of the respective country.

We have already wasted a lot of time. We don’t want to live as the poorest and neglected nation in the world. We want our economic growth, our honor. We have a lot of workforce and a lot of money in the Bank. But due to proper utilization and proper development planning we are staying in back. In this regard Political leader, Intellectual, Industrialist, Planner, Ambassador, Teacher Student and migrated generation in abroad should contribute to achieve the country’s economic progress. If we can take proper steps to obtain our economic growth, then we can remove our unemployment problem.

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OTHER WEAKNESSES IN BANGLADESH

There are some other negative factors in Bangladesh as well which are as follows:

1. Poor & very inadequate technical bases

2. Lack of trained manpower

3. Very poor project planning

4. Data bank lacking & highly inaccurate

5. Poor general economic conditions & low per capita income

6. Size of market & buying capacities

7. Uncongenial legal framework

8. Weak & ineffective capital market

9. Inefficient monitoring of banking structure & banking policy

10. Absence of business ethics

11 Bangladesh is classified as “high risk” country

12. Low savings GDP ratio

13. Unhealthy distribution of income and concentration of most of the wealth of the country in the hand of several thousands

14. Absence of social values and social justice with its serious erosion

15. Serious exploitation of society and country by educated people

16. Wrong conception about religion & week socio cultural institution, of which family is the weakest

17. Cumbersome custom formalities

18. Very low contribution of service sector.

19. Imbalance between direct and indirect tax structure.

20. Very loose boarder and smuggling.

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21. Very wide trade gap that is unfavorable balance of trade & balance of payment position (Export earning is about 40% import bills).

22. Ineffective balance of growth of agricultural & industrial sectors.

23. Initial industrial base was planned on the basis of different geographical dispersion and market.

24. Inadequacy of basic, heavy and mother industries.

25. Irregular flow of foreign funds.

26. Lack of interdepartmental, inter ministerial coordination & ineffective sectoral adjustment.

27. Serious problem of time and cost overruns of project implementation.

28. Lack of motivation in implementation of projects with serious snags.

29. Impacts of open market economy & formation of regional economic blocs.

30. Ineffective & corrupted banking structure.

31. High degree of propensity to incur unproductive expenses out of project funds both in public and private sectors.

32. Trading mentality of entrepreneurs, lack of business farsightedness resulting into interest towards painstaking industrial projects.

33. High degree of irresponsibility, callousness & indifference on the part of project managers of public sector projects.

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CHAPTER FOUR

“OPPORTUNITIES”

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INCREASING TREND OF INDUSTRIES

The contribution of the industry sector to Bangladesh economy has an increasing trend. In FY 2006-07, the contribution of the industry sector to real GDP is 29.77 percent while it was 17.31 percent in FY 1980-81. It is expected that this upward growth trend of the industrial sector will help to achieve the national growth rate at 7 percent level. Among the fifteen sectors identified for computing national income, the greater industry sector includes five sub-sectors such as mining & quarrying; manufacturing; construction; electricity-gas and water supply. . Among these sub sectors, the contribution of the manufacturing sector is the highest. In FY 2006-07, the growth of the manufacturing industry reached double-digit level like previous fiscal year. According to provisional estimate, in FY 2006-07 the contribution of the manufacturing sector to GDP is 17.79 percent, which is 4.34 percent higher than that of the previous year. In FY 2006-07, the growth rate in the manufacturing sector is estimated at 11.19 percent, which is 3.9 percent higher than that of the previous financial year. This trend in growth has accelerated the pace of economic development in Bangladesh. This growth was propelled by readymade garments and knitwear industry.

Table: Contribution of Manufacturing Sector in GDP and Growth Rate(At constant prices of 1995-96) (Tk. in crore)

Type of Industries

1999-2000

2000-2001

2001-2002

2002-2003

2003-2004

2004-2005

2005-2006

2006-2007

Small & Cottage

8659.3(5.8)

9267.4(6.6)

10699.6(7.2)

10780.0(8.0)

11496.0(7.45)

12408.5(7.93)

13551.5(9.21)

14944.2(10.28)

Medium- Large

21708.6(4.4)

23130.2(7.0)

24194.1(4.6)

25780.8(6.6)

27572.03(6.95)

29860.5(8.30)

33268.2(11.41)

37114.4(11.56)

Total 30367.9(4.8)

32397.6(6.7)

34174.2(5.5)

36480.8(6.8)

39068.8(7.1)

42269.0(8.19)

46819.7(10.77)

52058.6(11.19)

In the face of challenges of open market economy and globalization, the government believes that private sector-led industrial development could be one of the prime movers of economic growth. Beside this, government, by now, has liberalized the trade regime by introducing a range of reforms so that the entrepreneurs can set up industries and operate them profitably without any misgivings. Meanwhile, the government has handed over a number of SOE’s to the private ownership. In order to establish economically viable industrial enterprises, the government has taken initiatives to set up Industrial and Special Economic Zones so that the huge land area of these industrial zones is effectively used to set a new trend for industrialisation that would facilitate creation of huge employment opportunities. To further strengthen the process of industrialisation, the government has identified the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector as a priority sector and also as an engine of industry. To attract foreign investment, all facilities to be given to the potential investors were incorporated in the industrial policy. The government took initiatives to formulate a separate SME policy to provide required

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guidelines and strategic support to set up SME industries across the country. Guidelines and strategies incorporated in the SME policy will be followed to establish SME industries.Over the last decade, a discernible change across the globe was evident in terms of women's participation in socio-economic activities particularly in the sphere of industry. The present industrial policy, therefore, attaches significant priority to the issue of creating more women entrepreneurs and ensuring more participation of women entrepreneurs in the process of industrialisation. For hygienic preservation and marketing of Bangladesh agricultural products steps will be taken to make them frozen, pasteurized, canned or turn them into dry food, so that all these locally produced commodities can be exported round the year.

In this age of ICT, it is possible to provide accurate and rapid customer services by using ICT for cost effectiveness and improvement of the quality of products. This is why, providing encouragement to the intensive use of ICT on certain specific areas is another important feature of the present industrial policy. It is visualised that the industry sector that will be developing over the next decade would be able to gain 30-35 percent share of GDP and also to absorb 35 percent of the labour force. To achieve this estimated growth in the manufacturing sector, the present industrial policy has laid special emphasis on strengthening efforts to establish agro-based and agricultural product processing industry, together with steps to face the possible adverse situation in export-oriented RMG industry and SMEs sector, to extend facilities to women entrepreneurs on priority basis, to set up special economic zones in various regions, to market manufacturing products at a reasonable price with quality of products comparable to the world standard, to arrange environment-friendly production and to increase the productivity in the manufacturing sector. The directions contained in the new industry policy will help in putting in place planned expansion of industrialization and also achieve sustainable industrial growth on a continued basis.

This will create a strong and potential base for economic development which will in turn accelerate the process of poverty reduction and reduction of unemployment, create employment opportunities as well as accelerate the overall economic growth of the country.

The government took effective measures for the augmentation of the industrial growth and diversification of the industrial sector. Currently, in the manufacturing sector local textile, leather products, agro-based industry, bicycle and light engineering etc., are given cash support to augment export. To boost up industrial investment, the nationalized commercial banks have reduced the rate of interest from 10-12.50 percent to 9 percent in the thrust industrial sectors, such as textile industry (including readymade garments), agro-based industries, computer software and information technology, data export, production of artificial flowers, frozen food, (including frozen poultry and meat), gift items, 100 percent export oriented finished leather goods and jute goods, jewellery, diamond cutting and polishing, oil and gas, cocoon cultivation and sericulture and stuffed toys. The rate of interest has been reduced from 8-10 percent to 7 percent for pre-shipment and packaging credit for export of RMG, frozen food and agricultural

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commodities. Besides, bank rate has been reduced from 7 percent to 5 percent to induce reduction of interest rate of bank loans.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by producing exportable surpluses of commodities together with local value additions and creation of employment opportunities, can make significant contribution to the economy of Bangladesh. Although financing of SMEs in off-farm rural economic activities are largely dependent on equity financing from personal and family savings, currently banks and financial institutions are also coming forward to provide finance to this sector. As the large potential of employment generation by SMEs has attracted attention of the policy makers, a range of initiatives for channeling loans to SMEs are being taken.

The government has taken up programmes to provide financial assistance to expand SMEs through commercial banks. Alongside the disbursement of loans, Bangladesh Bank has taken up a scheme of Tk. 100 crore for refinancing the scheduled banks and financial institutions against the loan given to SMEs. Presently, this scheme has been increased to Tk. 200 crore. Beside this, IDA has provided US$ 10 million and government of Bangladesh provided Tk 85 crore to Enterprises Growth and Bank Modernisation Project (EGBMP). Moreover, ADB has finalised an agreement with Bangladesh bank to provide additional US$ 30 million to this sector. These resources would strengthen the financing programme of SME. This would result in employment generation in one hand and enhancement of purchasing power of the poor on the other. Under this programme, the financing capabilities of various financial institutions and banks have been enhanced and up to June, 2007 Bangladesh Bank has disbursed Tk 453.91 crore for refinancing. Out of this, the contribution of IDA and ADB was Tk. 125.28 crore and Tk. 77.38 crore respectively while that of Bangladesh bank was Tk. 251.25 crore.

Activities of Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC)Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) is the prime mover organisation of the government to help the entrepreneurs for promotion and extension of small and cottage industries in the country in private sector. BSCIC is working through 64 district offices, 70 industrial estate offices and 183 project offices in the upazilas to promote investment and production in the small and cottage industries sector in the country. During FY 2006-07, Tk. 830.66 crore has been invested in this sector through BSCIC, different banks and other financial institutions as well as in the form of own investment of entrepreneurs. Out of this amount, the term loan was Tk. 366.07 crore. Side by side, the entrepreneurs invested Tk. 240.43 crores as equity.

Tk. 13.13 crore have been disbursed as micro credit from BSCIC’s own management for poverty reduction. Apart from this’ Tk. 210.53 crore has been invested by the private entrepreneurs from their own fund for the establishment of industrial units in FY 2006-07. The investment has created employment opportunities of about 0.92 lakh people in FY 2006-07. BSCIC has 70 industrial estates to provide infrastructural facilities for establishment of industries throughout the country.

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These industrial estates have been playing a significant role in the economy. Tk. 8089.91 crore has been invested in the 3394 industries established in these industrial estates which in turn have created employment opportunity for 2.98 lakh people. These industrial units have produced goods worth Tk. 19116.67 crore during FY 2006-07 of which goods of Tk. 9535.67 crore have been exported. These units also paid to the national exchequer a total of Tk. 1483.00 crore as revenue.

Pursuant to the policy of poverty reduction of the government BSCIC has been implementing four poverty alleviation projects throughout the country. Under these projects, a sum of Tk. 13.63 crore has been disbursed as micro credit in FY 2006-07. As a result, 0.15 lakh employment opportunities have been created. BSCIC has established a tannery industrial estate on 200 acres of land at Savar in Dhaka district. All the 195 plots of this industrial estate have been allotted to 154 tannery industrial units in FY 2006-07. It is expected that after the implementation of this project, the city dwellers will get rid of environmental pollution created by the tannery units. BSCIC has been implementing two projects at Cox’s bazaar and Khulna-Satkhira coastal areas to assist the salt growers of the project areas with improved technology for the production and collection of salt from the salt field. In FY 2006-07 the demand for salt was estimated at 13.00 lakh metric ton. However, in reality, 10.65 lakh metric ton salts was produced against the target of 13.00 lakh metric ton due to unfavorable weather.

On going Reform Programmes in State Owned Industrial Sector:

In order to bring about improvement in the management system of state owned industrial sectors the following programmes have been undertaken:a. Gradual privatization of the financially insolvent entities under the State Owned Industrial Sector;b. Settlement of short term and long term liabilities of closed or privatized enterprises;c. Reduction of losses through retrenchment of additional manpower and curtailment of non-essential expenditure;d. Ensuring record keeping of assets and liabilities and annual audit;e. Enhancement of reward/punishment scheme for ensuring accountability at every stage; andf. Rationalisation of prices of goods/services consistent with market demand and cost of production.

Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA)

There are 8 EPZs is Bangladesh namely Chittagong EPZ, Dhaka EPZ, Mongla EPZ, Comilla EPZ, Ishwardi EPZ, Uttara EPZ, Adamjee EPZ and Karnaphuli EPZ. As of June 2007, 264 industries are in operation in the EPZs. Out of which 135 in Chittagong EPZ, 91 in Dhaka EPZ, 16 in Comilla EPZ, 03 in Uttara EPZ, 12 in Mongla EPZ, 03 in Ishwardi EPZ , 03 in Adamjee EPZ and 01 in Karnaphuli EPZ.

The total investment in the EPZs upto June, 2007 stands at US$ 1132.26 million. During FY 2005- 06, the total investment was US$ 112.89 million while during FY 2006-07 the

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investment stands at US$ 152.37 which is 35 percent higher than that of the previous financial year. Exports from the EPZs for the last few years show an upward trend. Upto 2005-2006, a total of US$ 11.839 billion worth exports has been made from the EPZs. The export target for the FY 2006-2007 was US$ 2 billion against which export to the tune of US$ 2.064 billion has been made. The export target for FY-2007-2008 is set at US$ 2.3 billion. The contribution to the national export from the EPZs in FY 2006-07 is about 18 percent.

In addition to FDI promotion, export and employment generation, EPZs of Bangladesh have also been making special contribution to the development of backward linkage and supportive industries of the country. The enterprises within EPZs are required to procure raw materials from the local market vis a vis 100% export oriented enterprises in local market also supplies its products to EPZ enterprises. Therefore the development of backward and forward linkage industries has been strengthened by the EPZ enterprises.Now a days buyers are placing much importance on social compliance issues and EPZs are also encouraging its investors to comply with the code of conducts and conditions. As a result, workingconditions are getting improved gradually and the workers are benefited with better facilities. BEPZA places much importance on environmental issues. The authority has already taken steps to introduce five Central Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP) in five of its EPZs in order to ensure maximum protection for the environment.

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TEXTILE SECTOR OF BANGLADESH

After Liberation when country's traditional items of export could not yield expected result, in late 70s the government and a section of entrepreneurs - young, educated and dynamic, began to emphasize on development of non-traditional items of export. By the year 1983, Ready-Made-Garment (RMG) emerged to be a non-traditional export oriented sector most promising in the socioeconomic context of the country. By that time, those entrepreneurs felt a necessity of sectoral trade body, non-government in nature, free from traditional bureaucracy, to help the RMG sector and to boost up the foreign exchange earnings of the country urgently needed at that time. Responding to that necessity, 19 (Nineteen) RMG manufacturers and exporters joined together and by their untiring efforts got Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) incorporated on February 20, 1983, Today 2400 small and medium scale privately owned garment factories, registered with BGMEA, spread in cluster over the EPZ and urban areas of Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna, are manufacturing ready-made garments of varied specifications as per size and designs stipulated by the overseas buyers. Starting with a few items, the entrepreneurs in the RMG sector have widely diversified the product base ranging from ordinary shirt, T-shirt, trousers, shorts, pajama, ladie's wear and children's wear to sophisticated high value items like quality suits, branded jeans items, jackets-both cotton and leather, sweaters, embroidered wear etc.

Fetching only US $ 6.4 million in 1981, garment sector of the country has now become an over 2.5-billion-dollar-foreign-exchange-earner, enjoying the status of 5th largest garment exporter and largest shirt and T-shirt exporter to the EU and 6th largest apparel exporter to USA. Bangladesh now exports ready-made garments to as many as 30 countries of the world with EU as the major importer, followed by USA, the largest importing country.

Besides accounting for 66% of Bangladesh's total export earning in 1995, this sector is employing about 1.2 million 1.2 million people of whom 90% are women. Ancillary industries producing cartons, polybags, woven labels, buttons, sewing thread, strapping band, gum tape etc. have emerged in large number with the growth of the sector. The RMG industry has helped the growth of the sectors like banking, insurance, shipping, hotel, tourism, road, transportation and railway container services etc. The sector in which the RMG has helped created the maximum prospect in the country in the textile sector - supply source of mother raw-material of RMG sector.

During the industry's early days in late 70s, RMG producers and exporters had to import all fabrics and accessories. Through the passage of about one and a half decade, today the situation has changed a lot. In 1995, RMG industry of the country used local accessories around 70% of the total accessory requirement of the industry. Presently, around 80% of required accessories like elastic, collarband, price ticket, metal clip, zipper, plastic clip, cellophane tape, carton, hangers etc. are being supplied from local sources. Local supply of other accessories is also increasing regularly. It can also be noted that we never can look forward to having supplies of all trimming materials from within the country because sometimes the producers have to import some accessories, according to buyers'

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preference, from some specific foreign suppliers. Dishonouring such conditions may cause losing valuable buyers. Considering this point, a size of local accessory industry capable to meet around 90% of the total demand is good enough to support smooth development of the RMG industry. That means, in accessory industry, we are not long way off. Both foreign and local capital are invested in the accessory industry.

But, though the CMT (Cutting, Making and Trimming) basis apparel sector has created an export oriented captive market for over 2.5 billion yards of fabrics per year which is increasing by not less than 20% each year, textile sector, rather capital intensive one, requires foreign capital to flourish to successfully match the fabric requirement of the export oriented RMG sector of the country.

If classified into knit and woven categories only, the story of knit fabric is far better than of the other. In 1995, the industry imported 86% of its total required fabrics from countries like China, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, etc. Out of the total fabric requirement of the industry, usually around 16% is constituted by the knit fabrics. Presently around 96% of the total requirement of woven fabrics and around 35% of the total requirement of knit fabrics are imported by the export oriented RMG industry.

It is not that fabrics are not produced in the country enough for the industry rather the quantity of locally produced fabrics, conforming to the choice of the buyers in the global market, is very negligible. In 1995, out of the local fabrics used in the industry, 4 million meters of Garmeen Check (GC), a recently developed locally produced handloom fabric, were used. Statistics show that presently the textile industry of the country is developing in a way that earth two-year around 230 million yards of fabrics are being produced as additional.

With WTO already installed and MFA in transition to be completely phased out by 2005, the manufacturers and exporters of RMG in Bangladesh are awaiting to compete in a greater context in the global apparel market. Country's talented entrepreneurs in the RMG industry have achieved the highest growth rate during last several years, compared to other industrial sectors, though almost 96% of woven and 35% of knit fabrics are presently being imported from abroad. Countries, where production cost, if properly engineered, is far below its competitors' for their natural endowment in supply of easily trainable huge work force, will offer maximum benefits to the customers. Moreover, if those countries enjoy sound local textile supply sources, they will do far better.

The country holds strategic location as the bridge between South and East Asian high growth regions and links with other markets of India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore, etc. The country has given high priority to development of roads & highways, bridges, rail roads, ports, telecommunication and other modern communication system, power supply, eradication of poverty, restoration of law & order situation and political stability. Besides the two export processing zones (EPZ) - one at Dhaka and the other at Chittagong, the government has decided to set up a new EPZ in Gazipur near Dhaka to meet the

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increased demand for setting up export oriented industries by investors form both home and abroad idea of setting up EPZ in private sector is also being mooted.

An extensive programme of incentives, to expedite investment in the country, are row in place covering " No Ceiling for investment" Tax holiday up to 10 years "Tax-exemption and duty-free importation of capital machinery and spare parts for 100% export oriented industries" Residency permits for foreign nationals including citizenship "Easy capital profit and dividend repatriation facilities" Double taxation avoidance "Tax-exemption on the interest payable on foreign loans" Taka convertible on current account etc.

The country enjoys Most Favoured Nation status and has signed bilateral trade and investment treaties with 16 countries in North America, Asia and Europe. Investors can also take advantage of the generalized-system of preference (GSP) which allows duty-free access to the European Markets. Since 1990, the Government has embarked on a highly successful macroeconomic, stabilization programme with balance of payments much improved, foreign exchange reserves and export earnings increased. Transparent investment protection law perhaps in the country's best attraction for investors in its open-door investment policy. The country has a very liberal investment climate. For instance, it takes just three days for a foreign investment registration and there is no discrimination between foreign and local private investors. Hundred percent foreign investment as well as joint ventures with local partners are allowed. Specially for the textile sector, as additional to the said facilities, policy for 25% export incentives has been introduced to encourage the use of local fabrics in the export oriented garment industry. With the possibility of further reduction in future, duty on cotton yarn has been reduced from 15% to 7.5%, on textiles spares from 30% to 15% and on dyes from 60% to 30%. Raw cotton import is now duty-free. Foreign investment is particularly welcome in our export-oriented textile industry.

The 51 million work force of the country is easily trainable. The price of labour is competitive compared to our neighbouring countries, countries in South-East Asia and Eastern Europe. The work force in one of the main advantages that Bangladesh is enjoying and will continue to enjoy over a considerable span of time in the context of international trade. Werner International has the comparative hourly wage rate in textile for 1993 that shows that average rate for Bangladesh is most cost-effective among India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia. The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, China, Hongkong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. So, Bangaldesh enjoys and advantage in this respect.

A new generator of entrepreneurs has emerged in the country, specially with the development of RMG, who are competent enough to shoulder the burden for mid and upper-mid level management and are experienced in textile industry. Now, in Bangladesh, organizations are recruiting more people with technical and professional education than ever before. Therefore, scope of professional education has expanded. Over 0.2 million Bangladesh students are studying abroad with majority in US. Local universities and other private institutions are also offering different professional and technical courses. These students, studying at home and abroad make up the pool of

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prospective technical and professional talent who will drive the economic growth of the country.

I profoundly believe that the present rate of development in the overall textile sector in the country will continue and the country will cross US dollar 4 billion before 2001 in exporting RMG. If greater foreign investment takes place in the export oriented textile industry, situation will be far better no doubt. As the formation of local capital is very negligible as compared to the requirement in the Export oriented textile sector, foreign investors are most welcome to come up and weigh the prospects awaiting for them in our textile sector.

Fabourable investment policy framework, low rate of inflation, easily trainable workforce and emergence of a new generation dynamic entrepreneur class, with the recent development of infrastructure perhaps have made Bangladesh offer the best opportunity for investment in textiles in south Asia. Investors from Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and many of the European countries including United Kingdom, Germany etc. now have been showing trend to move to cost effective labour supplying countries. Had those investors been reached effectively, we believe, tremendous mutual benefit could have been accrued.

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Information Technology Services in Bangladesh

Computerization:

Though the first main frame computer came to Bangladesh in 1964, but usage of PC and its popularization actually started very late. Commercial application of computer was initiated by Janata Bank in 1967 followed by Adamjee Jute Mills Ltd. in 1970. Several large banks and private entrepreneurs in industrial sectors are the path makers of achieving benefits from computer and computerized applications.

Bureau of Statistics and a few nationalized banks are the leaders in using computer in government sector by processing data and information, while industrial concerns in private sectors are the leaders in applying computer for their accounting, payroll and inventory related applications. A joint survey by the Bangladesh Computer Council and Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, published in April 1999, has found that there were more than 78,000 PCs in Bangladesh by the end of 1998 with more than 120,000 licensed software marketed (BCC and BBS, 1999). However, it has been revealed from recent survey that almost 90% of the computers are in Dhaka, the capital city. It is widely felt that there has to be some policy for decentralization of these PCs to regions outside of Dhaka. More than 72% of the computers are involved in some form of IT related activities.

Very recently the government has withdrawn import duties from computer and computer related peripherals. Due to withdrawal of taxes from computer, prices of computer and computer related items dropped drastically and became affordable to general communities. Even now, the scopes of computerization and effective application are severely under-utilized due to many governmental policies.

Internet Services in Bangladesh:

Internet has a significant positive role in accessing information from different sources. Until very recently, Bangladesh National Scientific Documentation Centre (BANSDOC) was the only public sector institution providing Internet services to selected users, mainly the research and educational institutes. There are several banks that link their branches through Internet. Private Sector Internet services with limited facilities have been made available in the capital city, Dhaka, since 1990/91.

The Internet came late in Bangladesh, with UUCP e-mail beginning in 1993. In June 1996, the government decided to allow private entrepreneurs to act as ISPs using VSATs (Very Small Aperture Terminal). By July 1997 there were an estimated 5,500 IP and UUCP accounts (Press, 1999) in the country. Internet Service Providers (ISP) offer Internet services with bandwidth ranging between 65 Kbps and 2 Mbps through VSAT (with hub station outside Bangladesh), Broadband and Zacknet downlink. In 1999, there are about 22,000 account holders with 10 ISPs (8 in Dhaka and 2 in Chittagong) and the

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total number of users ranged around 100,000, while in 2000, there are about 50 ISPs providing Internet services to more than 250,000 Internet users. Recently the Square Informatix has installed a VSAT hub station at Gazipur, near Dhaka, which is expected to start functioning very soon.

Initially there were only a few UUCP (Unix-to-Unix Copy Protocol) accounts in the country and then they were replaced by IP (Internet Protocol) accounts. At a later stage low bandwidth 64 Kbps VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) link became the main Internet backbone of the country with 120 million people.

Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) has already established a network for high bandwidth Internet connectivity through offering commercial services. BTTB is establishing a fibre optics backbone throughout the country and also has a plan to offer ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) service using the facilities of the already installed digital exchanges in Dhaka and Chittagong cities. They have opened X25 and X28 services in eight cities of the country and established Digital Data Network (DDN) at Dhaka and four other cities. Through DDN they are going to offer IPLC (International Private Leased Line Circuits), National (Point to Point High Speed data Circuits), Local (Point to Point High Speed Data Circuits) and E1 Access from PSTN (Public Switched telephone Network) to ISPs At present there are about 80 Independent (private) ISP companies, including the government owned BTTB and many offline ISPs all over the country. Now the Internet service has gone up to major towns of the country at district level. By the year 2002 the number of internet users might have increased to over 300 thousand. Privately owned Internet browsing facilities are being expanded to cities and towns in the form of Cyber Café by the ISPs

At the same time, several Telecentres/ Cybercafes are providing e-mail and Internet services and they have increased the popularity of Internet usage and in a way the number of Internet users in the country. It has been observed that students are the main clients of these Telecentres. A telecentre opened by the SDNP (Sustainable Development Networking Programme-A UNDP funded project) Bangladesh at the BIDS (Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies- the executing agency) premises is offering free Internetservices to school and college students, including students from nearby slum areas, since July 2000.

Anyone can install a VSAT with a simple permission from BTTB. Cost of VSAT equipment are nearly US$ 40,000 and annual monthly lease fee to the Internet provider costs around US$ 24,000 with an additional mandatory annual fee of US$ 3500 to BTTB. Legal framework now also permits ISPs to float public share in the stock exchange. In this aspect one should concentrate providing ISP service to small cities in Bangladesh, where they don't have any ISP services. There are possibilities of using locally designed long distant Micro Wave (using multiple wireless routers) and these links are now available in Bangladesh at very reasonable cost- for access to remote areas. Straight line of path (60 km range with 3 Mb access speed), each tower units cost approximately USD2400. The difficult part of establishing an ISP here is to accommodate digital telephone lines to start up an ISP business due to unavailability of enough Telephone lines within

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required time or in certain geographic areas and locations. Hence, remote wireless access may be a better solution for Bangladesh. A typical ISP may need a minimum of 30 independent (telephone) hunt lines to start up a business.

The highest peak time charge (Internet usage fees) now is about Taka 1.50 (6:00 am to 6:00 pm) and the lowest, off peak time (10:00 pm to 6:00 am), charge is around Taka 0.20 per minute) depending on the ISP. Grameen Cybernet (an ISP) has the largest number of subscriber base (about 6000) and the current bandwidth available now - what local ISP's are providing, ranges from 64 Kbs to 2 Mbs (BOL Online Ltd. and Proshikha are providing 2 Mbs access).

Sustainable development Networking Programme (SDNP), a non-profit ISP, is working in the field of providing digital connectivity to academics, national and international agencies and development partners. This project is financed by the UNDP and executed by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS). Utilising SDNP backbone, Internet services are being extended to the remotest regions of Bangladesh through its regional hubs and information centres.

Due to delays in decision making, Bangladesh could not obtain a link to the sub-marine cable in the late 90s and also due to lack of persuasion from top level government agencies the country domain name ‘bd’ is still not functioning properly. In the absence of a ccTLD (country-code Top Level Domain), the email and Internet users are suffering from bandwidth wastage and in this way cost of the browsing is increasing and speed of e-mail communication is decreasing. Bangladesh Govt. has now decided to have international submarine cable connection by 2003 and actions are being taken accordingly. This will facilitate quick browsing with less cost.An Information Technology village is going to be set up very close to Dhaka. The government has already made 18 acres of land available for setting up this IT village. This would be similar to the Software Technology Parks in India. The entire infrastructure, including high-speed telecommunication facilities (2 Mbps link) would be provided. These would enable the small companies to move into buildings with readily available facilities. Since this is going to take at least two years, a decision has been taken to initially set it up in an existing building in Dhaka (Chowdhury, 1999).

Information Technology Policy of the Government:

The present Government of Bangladesh (GOB) declared IT (Information Technology) as a thrust sector. IT national policy has been formulated. This Policy aims at building an IT-driven nation comprising of knowledge-based society by the year 2010. In view of this, a countrywide IT-infrastructure will be developed to ensure access to information by every citizen. It is expected to facilitate empowerment of people and enhance democratic values and norms for sustainable economic development by using the infrastructure for human resources development, governance, e-commerce, banking, public utility services and all sorts of on-line IT-enabled services. Ministry of Information Technology (MOIT) will be created with the prime responsibility of assisting socio-cultural-economic development of Bangladesh through the use of Information Technology.

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National Council of Information Technology (NCIT) will be created as the field organization of MOIT to implement the decisions of the MOIT, as well as to act as the liaison between the IT Industry and the Government.

Information technology Organizations in Bangladesh:

Bangladesh National Scientific and Technical Documentation Centre (BANSDOC) was established in 1962. Govt. of Bangladesh announced the National Science and Technology policy in 1986. BANSDOC with Library Association of Bangladesh (LAB) prepared a draft of National Science and Technology Information Policy (NASTIP). BANSDOC has the responsibility to co-ordinate and channelize national information resource. The On-line Library and information network- Bangladesh National Scientific Library and Information Network has been established in 1998 (Chandel and Begum, 1998).

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FISHERIES

An Overview of Fisheries Sector:

Bangladesh has extensive and huge water resources all over the country as small ponds, itches, lakes, canals, small and large rivers, and estuaries covering about 4.34 million hectares. The culture fisheries include freshwater ponds of 0.15 million ha, and coastal shrimp farms of 0.14 million ha. The country has a coastal area of 2.30 million ha and a coastline of 714 km along the Bay of Bengal, which supports a large artisanal and coastal fisheries. In addition to this, the country has 166,000 km2 EEZ in the Bay of Bengal. The fisheries sector of Bangladesh is highly diverse in recourse types and species. There are about 795 (including 12 exotic species) species of fish and shrimp available in the both fresh and marine waters of Bangladesh. Exports were valued at USD 307 million. In 2000, the fisheries sector contributed about 6% to its national GDP, involving a fulltime equivalent of at least 5.2 million people, or 9% of the labour force. Moreover, the sector functions as a safety net for income and food for the rural poor, provides an important source of animal protein and essential elements for all consumers, and is particularly important for poor in both rural and urban areas.

Total production was estimated at 750,000 mt from inland capture fisheries, 850,000 mt from inland aquaculture, 95,000 mt from coastal aquaculture (on shore aquaculture; major species is shrimp and a few finfish) and 589,000 mt from marine fisheries. Both inland and marine capture fisheries are in declined by around 5% and 1% per annum. Current levels of marine fisheries production are only being maintained by significant increases in fishing effort, which if not contained will contribute to greater reductions in production in the long term. However, aquaculture has a major impact, growing by +/- 14% per annum over the decade. Specific areas of growth include carp (20% per annum) and shrimp (3% per annum). By contrast, it is essential to explore the incremental fish production from initiating off-shore Mariculture in the Bay of Bengal.

Marine Resources:

Bangladesh is one of the resourceful countries with its wide range of marine aquatic bio-diversities. There are about 1093 marine aquatic organisms where 44.35% are finfish, 32.23% shellfish, 15.10% seaweeds and only 8.32% are other organisms including shrimps. The details in number of species and their percentages are shown in the table below:

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Group of the Organisms No. Of Species %

1 Finfish 486 44.35

2 Sharks, Rays, Skates and Dolphin 21 1.92

3 Shrimps 36 3.30

4 Lobster 6 2.01

5 Crabs 16

6 Sea Turtle 3 0.27

7 Crocodiles 3 0.27

8 Squid and Cuttle Fish 7 0.64

9 Shellfish (Univalves & Bivalves) 350 32.23

10 Seaweeds 165 15.10

Total 1093 100

Status of Marine Aquaculture:

This sub-sector of fisheries has mainly one type of culture system like on-shore aquaculture. The on-shore aquaculture is generally called in Bangladesh as Coastal Aquaculture.

The Coastal Aquaculture:

The coastal aquaculture has been developed significantly in the last decade particularly the shrimps (monodon and indicus sp.) culture in medium to high saline water and prawn (machrobrachium sp.) culture in less saline areas. In addition, a small production of mangrove crabs, and varied quantities of brackish and marine water fish species like sea bass and mullet, most of which are produced as by-crops or fallow crops in the shrimp ponds. This constitutes the major export oriented subsector, and is increasingly shaped by international trade conditions and by national responses to these. Its relatively high value places considerable importance for upstream inputs such as seed and feeds, and for downstream elements such as transport and processing.

Seed Supply:

This sub-sector comprises both capture and culture elements, supplying both finfish and shrimp seed. Both groups still depend to varying degrees on wild caught stocks, though fish (carp) culture is increasingly dominated by hatchery supply and shrimp/prawn culture is steadily increasing its demands for cultured stock. The supply of wild seed has important interactions with artisanal fishing in coastal areas. Whatever, the source of seed, considerable national (and cross border) networks have built up to transport and distribute seed from points of origin to producers. The government has banned catching of wild post larvae from the coastal zone to conserve its biodiversity. Accordingly, the supply of hatchery produced seed has been increased significantly in last 4 years and the

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seed transportation system also modernized as well. Still farmers are depending upon nature for finfish (sea bass, mullet, etc) seeds.

Post harvest and Market:

The gradual shift from local consumption within rural areas and the growth in urban markets and their service infrastructures has increased the role of market intermediaries and service suppliers for the coastal aquaculture. However, as many markets are still based on wet fish sale the scope for value addition is minimal to date.

More particularly, the production of shrimp and the export in frozen tailed form has created a significant production sub-sector, with commercial investment and notable employment impacts. Demand for shrimp is increasing in the US and Europe. Though the Japanese market has slowdown, new markets have emerged in Asia such as the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong. In 2001, Bangladesh achieved its ever highest export earnings of USD 32 million by exporting 29,719 mt shrimp. The growth in exportshas been consistent since the early 1970s, but the problems associated with identified health and food safety in 1997 - 2000.

General Support to the Sub-sector:

A range of associated functions - products and services, can be recognized, serving as the primary multiplier elements for the sub-sector. However, as most forms of output are relatively under or undeveloped. Elements include aquaculture seed, feed, equipment and their maintenance and other supplies for post-harvest needs. Particular changes are occurred in more commercializing sub sector. The provision of extension and research services and of financial and management services can also be further developed and modernized in this sub sector.

Off-shore Mariculture:

Bangladesh is exploring its marine resources by only capturing the fishes from the sea. It has about 714 km long coast line with 166,000 km2 EEZ with 1093 aquatic marine organisms including finfish, shellfish, shrimps, seaweeds, etc. The marine capture fish is declining about 5% per annum. If it is continued, the total fish production will be held back in near future. So, it is the right time to think about how to increase the marine production, and the Mariculture initiatives should be taken now. Among the marine fishes, only shrimps are cultured in on-shore ponds. Some other species like sea bass, mullet and mud crab are also started to culture in the ponds in saline water traditionally in a limited scale. However, it has huge potentiality of off-shore Mariculture. In contrast, it could be concluded that there is no Mariculture exist in Bangladesh.

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EXISTENCE OF NGO IN BANGLADESH

Introduction:

Developmental NGOs play a major role in Bangladesh’s human development process. Media are regarded as important for developmental NGOs, as they can promote or create awareness about NGO activities. NGOs need media to convey their messages, and also to form public opinion about government policy. Similarly, news media have become dependent on NGOs for covering development issues. Developmental NGOs of Bangladesh are among the most active in the world, and they have been successful in helping the government to achieve targets in human resource development (UNDP, 2005). This study investigates factors concerning NGO-media interaction that influence the coverage of developmental issues in Bangladesh, a least developed country2 that is also a “medium human development” country (UNDP, 2005).

Knowledge transmission and enhanced transparency are regarded as key ingredients of an effective strategy by development policymakers. Promoting good governance and development requires improvement of media capacity for reporting on socioeconomic and development issues such as public health and education (Hudock, 2003; and Ojo, 2005).

NGO Activities in Bangladesh:

Bangladesh became independent in 1971, through a bloody liberation war to escape the rule of what was then West Pakistan. Bangladesh’s struggle for economic emancipation continues; the country remains poor. Though the country has progressed in human development and agriculture compared to other least developed countries in the 36 years since independence, its development process has been fettered by political and environmental factors. Developmental NGOs have significantly contributed to the development process in Bangladesh. Since independence, the NGO sector in Bangladesh has emerged to contribute to the state’s daunting task of rebuilding a war-ravaged nation (Ahmad, 2001). Leading NGOs such as the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), Proshika, and Grameen Bank started their activities in the early or mid-1970s (Lewis, 1993).

At the start of the 1990s, development prospects for Bangladesh were seen as slim, about the equivalent of those for sub-Saharan Africa today (UNDP, 2005:46). Even so, Bangladesh has recorded “some of the developing world’s most rapid advances” in basic human development indicators since the mid-1990s. According to the World Human Development Report 2005, the successes of Bangladesh demonstrate what can be achieved through stronger state action and civic activism. Apart from progress in infant mortality, fertility, and nutrition, primary school enrollment rates now exceed 90%, up from 72% in 1990, and enrollment in secondary education has been rising too (UNDP, 2005). NGOs’ success in poverty alleviation and development initiatives is often undermined, though, by political misuse of government policy regarding NGO sector (“ EU to urge govt again to release fund allocated for Proshika,” 2004).

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In order to support social and economic empowerment of the poor, NGOs in Bangladesh have vastly widened their activities to include group formation, micro-credit, formal and informal education, training, health and nutrition, family planning and welfare, agriculture and related activities, water supply and sanitation, human rights and advocacy, and legal aid. Some NGOs have succeeded in providing services such as education, health, and microfinance and in promoting human rights, particularly women's rights (Rafi & Chowdhury, 2000; Shehabuddin, 1999). NGOs’ activities in the sector of human resource development have contributed significantly to national achievement. But in areas such as poverty, quality education, women's rights, and human rights, NGOs need media support to inform and mobilize people. Distance and lack of interaction between media and NGOs over these issues stand in the way of implementing these development initiatives.

Bangladesh has been perhaps the most important hearth on the globe for non-governmental organizations. Some estimates place the number of NGOs in Bangladesh in excess of 20,000. There are many types of NGOs in the country, but most focus on development or poverty alleviation. Bangladesh is often seen as the birthplace of the microcredit NGO, namely the Grameen Bank. The Comilla District in Bangladesh has also long been the pet project of global developmental theorists and NGOs.

International NGOs:

* Actionaid * CARE Bangladesh * Concern * Manusher Jonno * Oxfam * SAP - South Asia Partnership * Save the Children Australia * Save the Children Canada * Save the Children Germany * Save the Children UK * Save the Children USA * TdH-Italy Terre des hommes Italia * Terre des hommes Netherlands] * USAID - U.S. Agency for International development * USC Canada Bangladesh * Voluntary Service Overseas * Damien Foundation * NBDP-North Bengal Development Program (Thakurgaon) * Thengamara Mohila Sabuj Sangha (TMSS)

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Microfinance institutions (MFIs):

* AALO * ARBAN (NGO) (Association for Realisation of Basic Needs) * ASA * BRAC * BARSA [Bangladesh Association of Rural and Social Advancement], Satkhira. * DORP (Development Organisation of the Rural Poor) * Grameen Bank * GKP (Gono Kallayan Parishad) * PARD (Palash Palli Unnayan Sangstha) * POPI (People's Oriented Program Implementation) * RDRS Bangladesh (Rangpur Dinajur Rural Service) * TMSS (Thengamara Mohila Sabuj Sangha) * PMUK (Padakhep Manabik Unnayan Kendra)

Children:

* GKP - Gono Kallayan Parishad * BSAF - Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum * DDF - Destitute Development Foundation * STS - Shishu Tori Sangstha * TALF - Theater & Arts for Less Fortunate * Compassion International * Ayoti Women and Children Care Organization Bogra Bangladesh

Education:

* ARBAN (Association for Realisation of Basic Needs) * BEES - Bangladesh Educational & Environment Society * CAMPE (Campaign for Popular Education) * DAM - Dhaka Ahsania Mission * GKP - Gono Kallayan Parishad * DDF - Destitute Development Foundation * FIVDB - Friends in Village Development Bangladesh * GSS - Gonoshahajjo Sangstha * SJA - Sylhet Jubo Academy * Underprivileged Children's Educational Programs * Fahad khan Foundation

Health:

* GKP - Gono Kallayan Parishad * Damien Foundation * DDF - Destitute Development Foundation * Marie Stopes

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* Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh * TALF - Theater & Arts for Less Fortunate[http://talf.webs.

Human Rights and Humanitarian Organizations:

* ASK - Ain O Salish Kendra * BATU-SAARC * BILS - Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies * BRCT - Bangladesh Rehabilitation Centre for Trauma VictimsBRCT * GKP - Gono Kallayan Parishad * DDF - Destitute Development Foundation * PARD - Palash Palli Unnayan Sangstha * PRAN - Participatory Research & Action Network * HRCBM - Human Rights and Humanitarian Services Organization * KARMOJIBINARI (KN) * THE HUNGER PROJECT * SJA - Sylhet Jubo Academy * Steps - Steps towards Development * BARSA [Bangladesh Association of Rural and Social Advancement], Satkhira.

Indigenous Communities:

* ECDO - Ethnic Community Development Organization, Sylhet * DDF - Destitute Development Foundation * PBM - Parbataya Bouddha Mission, Chittagong Hill Tracts

Environment:

* BEES - Bangladesh Educational & Environment Society * DDF - Destitute Development Foundation * Water and Sanitation: * SJA - Sylhet Jubo Academy * GKP - Gono Kallayan Parishad * NGOF for DWSS (NGO Forum for Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation) * Participatory Research & Action Network- PRAN

Youth:

* YPSA - Young Power in Social Action * SJA - Sylhet Jubo Academy * DDF - Destitute Development Foundation * sb - Surid Bangladesh * TRDO - Teenager Research & Development Organization

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Research Organizations:

* PromPT - Promoting Participation & Training * DDF - Destitute Development Foundation * HDRC - Human Development Research Centre * PPRC - Power and Participation Research Centre * PPS-BD- PRA Promoters' Society- Bangladesh * Unnayan Onneshan - The Innovators * Shamunnay * Participatory Research & Action Network- PRAN

SME Development:

* Change Maker - Society for Social and Economic Development

Rural Development:

* GKP - Gono Kallayan Parishad * DDF - Destitute Development Foundation * SAP - South Asia Partnership-Bangladesh * VARD - Voluntary Association for Rural Development * Society for Integration of Rural Initiatives * RDRS Bangladesh (Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service) * Grameen Swapna * SJA - Sylhet Jubo Academy * BSDS - Bangladesh Social Development Services (BSDS) * ARD- Association for Rural development (ARD)

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TEA SECTOR IN BANGLADESH

Tea Industry was pioneered in the 19th century by the British planters. Later, some Indian entrepreneurs purchased tea gardens from their European owners. Indian entrepreneurs also came forward to develop new plantations.

Around 1823, tea started to be grown for commercial purposes in the Assam forests, which has ideal soil and climatic conditions for the crop. Assam Tea Company started the first commercial efforts in organised tea growing in 1839. Tea cultivation in Bengal developed concurrently with that in the northeastern part of India during the early nineteenth century. The Assam indigenous tea plant was established in Chandkhani Hills of Sylhet in 1855. At about the same time, wild tea was found along Khashi and Jainta Hills. Tea plantation started in Chittagong in 1840 with few China plants from the Botanical gardens in Calcutta and seeds from Assam as well as those imported from China. The first commercial tea plantation was introduced in the eastern part of Bengal in 1854 at Malnicherrea in Sylhet. It was extended to Lalchand and Mertinga in 1860.

After the Partition of Bengal in 1947, East Pakistan inherited 133 tea estates covering 30,350 ha and their annual production was 18.80 million kg of tea. Tea production rose to 25.17 million kg in 1964, but the rate of growth of production in the province was lower than that in major tea producing countries. Annual domestic consumption rose sharply from 13.15 million kg in 1949 to 22.59 million kg in 1962-63. During this period, export of tea declined because of increased consumption at home, especially in West Pakistan.

The war of liberation in 1971 caused severe damage to the tea industry of Bangladesh. Threat to life and the torture of the Pakistani army forced many tea garden workers to leave tea gardens. The gardens also suffered heavily because of the war. Protected market of West Pakistan was lost. The auction sales in chittagong were suspended. Communication network and transport links were disrupted. The cumulative effect was a fall in output of tea gardens. The new government of Bangladesh appointed a committee in 1972 to make detailed study of the problems faced by the industry. The committee suggested measures to raise productivity and to reduce cost of production and marketing. Requirements identified by the committee included more intensive cultivation, replacement of old and uneconomic tea plants, use of improved seeds and clones, growth of subsidiary crops, modernisation of factories, and grant of financial incentives for establishing co-operative factories for the benefit of small gardens. Attention of the authority was drawn to the high ratio of vacancy caused by unplanned infixing programmes, particularly in old tea gardens, waterlogging due to lack of proper drainage system, vigour of tea bushes, need for introducing shade trees and a pruning system to keep bushes in continuous vegetative phase.

In Bangladesh there are three kinds of ownership of tea gardens: foreign owned sterling companies, Bangladeshi Joint Stock Companies and privately owned proprietary tea estates. In early 1990s, a total of 12 sterling companies were in tea business. They owned 26 gardens, all located in maulvi bazar and habiganj districts. Fifty Bangladeshi

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companies owned and operated 73 gardens, of these the National Tea Company owned 12 and 57 were under proprietorship management.

The number of tea gardens increased to 158 by 2000. These gardens covered 48,300 hectares. Of these gardens, 135 are in sylhet division and 23 are in chittagong division. The tea estates in Bangladesh annually produce about 55 million kg of tea. But the productivity is lower than in other tea growing countries largely due to uneconomic size of tea gardens. The country occupies the 9th position in respect of production among the 30 tea producing countries of the world. Half of the produce is consumed at home and the rest is exported. Bangladesh earns foreign exchange worth about Tk 2,000 million every year from tea export. Bangladesh exports tea (mostly black tea) to the following countries: Afghanistan, Australia, Belgium, China, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, KSA, Kyrghistan, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Sudan, Switzerland, Taiwan, UAE, UK and USA.

The tea sector contributes about 0.8% of the GDP in Bangladesh. About 0.15 million people are directly employed in the tea industry, which constitutes about 3.3 percent of the country's total employment. Many more people are indirectly employed in other sectors related to tea.

Basic Information of Bangladesh tea Industry:

Land of Tea Estates:

a. No. of Tea Estates 163

b. No. of Tea Factories 114

c. Total Garden Area 115,629.76 ha.

d. Total Nurseries 1015.66 ha.

I. Seed Bari -320.47 ha.

II. Seed Nurseries -286.71 ha.

III. Clone Nurseries -408.48 ha.

Tea Area excluding Nurseries: - 52,407.22 ha.

1) Tea Bush 0-5 years 5,886.24 ha.

2) Tea Bush 6-10 years 5,933.24 ha.

3) Tea Bush 11-40 years 18,170.34 ha.

4) Tea Bush 41-60 years 12,542.78 ha.

5) Tea Bush above 60 years 9,874.62 ha.

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Global Export of Tea:

Total global export of tea in 2006 was 1572 million kgs of which Bangladesh exported only 4.97 million kgs. World export volumes hardly increased during the year under review. India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Argentina ended the year with higher exports whilst exports from Indonesia, Kenya and Bangladesh dropped. Export from Bangladesh declined about 88% from 9.01 M.kg in 2005 to 4.79 M.kg. in 2006 mainly due to increase of internal demand that pushes the local auction prices up.

World Export of Tea in 2006 (Million Kg)

Country Export

1. Sri Lanka 315

2. Kenya 314

3. China 287

4. India 201

5. Vietnam 106

6. Indonesia 95

7. Argentina 71

8. Malawi 42

9. Uganda 33

10.Tanzania 24

11.Rwanda 13

12.Zimbabwe 11

13.Georgia 8

14.Turkey 6

15.Bangladesh 5

16.Taiwan 2

17.Other Countries

39

Total World Export of Tea- 1,572 million KGs.

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SHIPBUILDING SECTOR IN BANGLADESDH

IN an exceptionally quick response to the demand of the shipbuilders, the government has announced a policy package to boost the rapidly growing shipbuilding industry treating this as a thrust sector. Under the policy the shipbuilders will enjoy 'bonded warehouse' facilities like the export-oriented readymade garment industries.

Shipbuilding in Bangladesh emerged as a potential sector in recent years when two local builders got export orders worth over US$150 million. Foreign orders jumped to 350 million dollars within a year. The shipbuilders import 80 percent of the raw materials and hundred percent of the machinery. The problem with this import is that customs clearance of those goods takes three to four months. In a bid to avoid the hassles, the shipbuilders had been demanding different facilities. Under the latest government response, the shipbuilding sector will enjoy facilities including duty free import of raw materials and tax holiday for ten years.

The National Board of Revenue has imposed some conditions with a view to preventing sale of the imported goods to the local market. While such conditions are necessary, precautions must be taken so that those do not hamper the growth of the sector. It is gathered that a sort of vacuum in shipbuilding prevails internationally. The shipbuilding industry should take advantage of this to grow as a strong contender. The government should also expedite the installation of the proposed steel industry with a production capacity of two million tons of hot rolled steel sheets to bring an end to the dependence on imported sheets. The builders must make quality ships at competitive costs to hold and expand the market.

The three largest shipbuilding companies in Bangladesh have secured offer s for ship building of about 200 million Euros within the last three months. This shows a huge potential in this sector. Ananda Shipyard, Western Marine Shipyard Ltd. and Highspeed Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd. have recently singed MoUs for orders from Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands to build ships. It appears that European shipbuilding companies are all booked with orders till 2010 and that Asian shipbuilders in Korea, Japan, China, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam have adequate export orders. This vacuum has created a great opportunity for the country’s booming shipbuilding industry to get involved into the global export market. The Government of Bangladesh is now formulating policies to allow the shipbuilders to import capital machinery for setting up new heavy shipyards and bonded warehouse facilities for import of all raw materials through a so-called green channel. Thes e facilities will provide enough incentives to the sector to contribute substantially to the national economy.

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REMITTANCE

During the 18th and 19th centuries, development impact of migration was mostly recorded in the context of receiving states whereas since 2nd world war migration experience underscores positive economic and social benefits for both receiving and sending countries. Remittances are substantive yardstick of macro level benefits in sending countries. Various figures indicate that flow of migrant remittances from sending to receiving countries are continuously growing. Global figures state that official remittances have increased from less than US$ 2 billion in 1970 to US$ 80 billion in 2000 (ILO, 2002). This does not include informal transfers. Micro-studies in countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh have shown that only around half of the remittances are transferred through official channels and the rest find their way through different unofficial methods. Consequently the actual amount of remittance is likely to be at least double the officially recorded figures1.

Sixty percent of the global remittance flow is towards developing countries (Sorensen 2004). This figure is more than global official development assistance (ODA) as well as capital market flows (Gammeltoft, 2002) to those countries. When compared with foreign direct investment (FDI) in those countries, amount of remittances are over half of total flow. Moreover, remittances as source of financial flows are found to be more stable thanprivate capital flows and to be less volatile to changing economic cycle (Ratha, 2003). International organizations like ILO, IOM, IMF, World Bank and ADB are increasingly emphasising migrants’ remittance as tool to promote development. Bangladesh is a huge labour surplus country. Hence it belongs to the supply side of the global labour market. On an average, 2,50,000 people annually (1995-2003) migrate to take up overseas employment. Flow of migrant workers is associated with growing flow of remittance to Bangladesh. In 2002, it accounted for 2% of the global remittance transfer and 12% of the official remittance to South Asia (Table: 1). Since the late 1990s, successive governments of Bangladesh, realising the importance of remittance to the economy, have undertaken different macro-economic reforms to encourage official flow of remittance. The 7th parliamentary government has established a new ministry entitled Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment (EWOE) to ensure efficient management of migration sector in Bangladesh.

Bangladeshi Migrants:

Currently two types of voluntary international migration occur from Bangladesh. One takes place mostly to the industrialized west and the other to Middle Eastern and South East Asian countries. Voluntary migration to the industrialized west includes permanent residents, work permit holders and professionals. They are usually perceived as long term or permanent migrants. Migration to Middle East and South East Asia are usually for short term. The migrants return home after finishing their contract. Although longterm migration is much older than short term yet information on their types, extent and composition is not available with the government. Information on the short term labour migrants who officially go overseas for employment is available with the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET)

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Extent

BMET3 data show that from 1976 to 2003, the total number of Bangladeshis working abroad as short-term migrants stands at more than three million (Table 2). It indicates a yearly average flow (1991–2002) of around 214,098. There is a slight decline in migration in 1991, perhaps because of Gulf War in that year. Again, dramatic increase is recorded in the following two years. This might have been the reward for Bangladesh’s participation in the anti- Iraq alliance through deployment of troops in protecting the holy land of Mekkah and Medina in Saudi Arabia during 1991 Gulf War. The workers were involved in post-war reconstruction. It also shows that the highest number of people migrating from Bangladesh was in the year 1999 (268,182). A large number of Bangladeshi is also believed to have gone to the Middle East through irregular process.

Main Flow

Currently, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, Libya, Bahrain, Iran, alaysia, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Brunei are some of the major countries of destination. Saudi Arabia alone accounts for nearly one half of the total number of workers who migrated from Bangladesh. Labour market of Bangladeshi workers is not static. During the 1970s Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran and Libya were some of the major destination countries. While the position of Saudi Arabia remains at the top, Malaysia and UAE became important receivers. In mid-1990s, Malaysia became the second largestemployer of Bangladeshi workers. However, since the financial crisis of 1997, Bangladeshis migrating to Malaysia dropped drastically (see Table 2). Now UAE has taken over its place.

Type of Employment

BMET has classified short-term migrants to Middle East and South East Asia into four categories: professional, skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled. Doctors, engineers, teachers and nurses are considered as professional workers. Manufacturing or garment workers, drivers, computer operators and electricians are considered as skilled, while tailors and masons as semiskilled. Housemaids, agri-labourer, hotel boy and menial labourers, ie, cleaners, cart loader, carton pickers are considered as unskilled workers. Table 3 shows the percentage share of different skill category of migrants from 1976 to 2003. Only a small proportion of migrants are professionals (4.40%). 31% of them are skilled, 16% semi-skilled and 47% are unskilled workers.

Remittance Dynamics

Flow of Remittance:

The Bangladesh Bank5 documents remittance flows to Bangladesh from all over the world. This means it covers remittance of both long term and short term migrants. Bank data shows that the remittances sent by the migrants have grown over time. It has increased from a paltry figure of US$ 23.71m in 1976 to more than US$ 3b in 2002-03

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fiscal year(Table 5). Nonetheless, the yearly growth rate of remittance is much less than the growth rate of the total number of migrant workers.6 Throughout the last twenty-five years, the remittance flows broadly indicate an average yearly increase of around 10 percent. The most important reason behind such gap in migrant andremittance flows is that in recent times Bangladesh has exported more unskilled and semi-skilled migrants whose wages are rather low compared to those of previous skilled and professional ones. Wage rates have also fallen drastically over the past decade (Siddiqui and Abrar, 2003).

Annual quantities of remittances per sending country. One half of the total remittance came from one country, i.e., Saudi Arabia. Over the years, the US has become the second largest remittance sending country, Kuwait and the UAE being the third and fourth. Migrants use different methods in sending remittance involving both official and unofficial channels. A section of remittance is also transferred in kind. The goods that migrants bring along while visiting or returning to Bangladesh, or send with acquaintances can be termed as remittance in kind. Siddiqui and Abrar in a study (2003), calculated remittances received in kind by 100 families in two regions of Bangladesh7. Table 6 shows the number of goods received by the migrant families as remittance in kind and their estimated value. When added with the total sum sent in Taka, this value increased the total remittance of these families by another 9.21%.

Contribution of Remittance to the National Economy

Labour migration plays a vital role in the economy of Bangladesh. Bangladesh has a very narrow export base. Readymade garments, frozen fish, jute, leather and tea are the five groups of items that account for fourfifths of its export earnings. Currently, garments manufacturing is treated as the highest foreign exchange earning sector of the country (US $ 4.583 billion in 2003). However, if the cost of import of raw material is adjusted, then the net earning from migrant workers’ remittances is higher than that of the garments sector. In 2003, net export earning from RMG should be between US$2.29-2.52 billion, whereas the earning from remittance is net US$3.063 billion. In fact, since the 1980s, contrary to the popular belief, remittances sent by the migrants played a much greater role in sustaining the economy of Bangladesh than the garments sector.8 For the last two decades, remittances have been at levels of around 35% of export earnings, making it the single largest source of foreign currency earner for the country. This has been used in financing the import of capital goods and raw materials for industrial development. In the year 1998-99, 22 percent of the official import bill was financed by remittances (Afsar, 2000; Murshed, 2000 and Khan, 2003). The steady flow of remittances has resolved the foreign exchange constraints, improved the balance of ayments, and helped increase the supply of national savings (Quibria 1986). Remittances also constituted a very important source of the country’s development budget. In certain years in the 1990s remittances’ contribution rose to more than 50 percent of the country’s development budget. Government of Bangladesh treats Foreign aid (concessional loan and grants) as an important resource base of the country. However, remittances that Bangladesh received last year was twice that of foreign aid. Remittances have played a major role in reducing the extent of the country’s dependence on foreign aid.

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The contribution of remittance to GDP has also grown from a meagre 1 percent in 1977-1978 to 5.2 percent in 1982-83. During the 1990s the ratio hovered around 4 percent. However if one takes into account the unofficial flow of remittances, its contribution to GDP would certainly be much higher. Murshed (2000) finds that an increase in remittance by Taka 1 would result in an increase in national income by Tk 3.33. Following the expiry of multi-fiber agreement (MFA), Bangladesh will face steep competition in export of RMG. The country will cease to enjoy any special quota. It is apprehended that Bangladesh’s RMG export will decline sharply. This will result in loss of job of many workers and shortfall in foreign exchange earning. Potential of retaining employment and export earning through export of frozen fish, jute, leather and tea seems rather bleak. It is in this context labour migration has become key sector for earning foreign exchange and creating opportunities for employment. Therefore, the importance of migrant remittance to the economy of Bangladesh can hardly be over emphasized.

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PHARMACEUTICALS MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN BANGLADESH

Bangladeshi pharmaceutical firms focus primarily on branded generic final formulations using imported APIs. About 80% of the drugs sold in Bangladesh are generics and 20% are patented drugs. The country manufactures about 450 generic drugs for 5,300 registered brands which have 8,300 different forms of dosages and strengths. These include a wide range of products from anti-ulcerants, flouroquinolones, anti-rheumatic non-steroid drugs, non-narcotic analgesics, antihistamines, and oral anti-diabetic drugs. Some larger firms are also starting to produce anti-cancer and anti-retroviral drugs (Sampath 2007).

Domestically, Bangladeshi firms generate 82% of the market in pharmaceuticals; locally based MNCs account for 13%, and the final 5% is imported. Although 235 pharmaceutical companies are registered in Bangladesh, only about 85 are actively producing drugs. The top 30 to 40 companies dominate almost the entire market; the top 10 hold 70% of domestic market share; and the top two, Beximco and Square, capture over 25% of the market (Chowdhury 2006). The industry structure is relatively concentrated. In comparison, the top ten Japanese firms generated approximately 45% ofThe domestic industry revenue in 2006, while the top ten UK firms generated approximately 53%, and the top ten German firms generated approximately 60% (IMS Health 2006).

Because Bangladesh API capacity is insignificant, API firms import approximately 80% of their APIs. Fifteen to seventeen Bangladeshi firms are involved in the manufacture of about twenty APIs, but they usually run the final chemical synthesis stage with API intermediaries, instead of the complete chemical synthesis. The other 1,000 required APIs are imported.6 approximately 75-80% of the imported APIs is generic.7

In 2005, the size of the Bangladeshi pharmaceutical market was $500 million in terms ofproduction, and it is expected to grow at 10% per annum.8 In Figure 1, the industry’s annual historical growth rate in terms of production, is compared with Square Pharmaceutical’s, the largest domestic firm.

Drug Quality:

For generic pharmaceutical products, quality is defined as the generic drug having the same active ingredients as the original formulation and being bioequivalent to the brand name counterpart with respect to pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties (equivalent absorption rates, elimination rates, and other in vivo effects). By extension, therefore, generics are assumed to be identical to the original product in dose, strength, route of administration, safety, efficacy and intended use.

While some Bangladeshi pharmaceutical products on the market are of world-class standards, others are less so. Medical professionals and pharmacists interviewed voiced strong opinions on the quality levels of different brands.

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Some Bangladeshi firms have invested in quality raw materials, manufacturing processes and environment, and technical know-how. However, a “perverse incentive” exists against upgrading due to the weak regulatory structure. Firms that have invested minimally in quality continue to sell drugs alongside those that have invested substantially. Because of weak regulations, the consumer cannot determine quality differences and select for purchase the superior product. As a result, firms that have invested in quality manufacturing and quality processes are in a sense penalized.

Export Market:

Pharmaceutical firms in Bangladesh export approximately $27.54 million in products to 68 countries.16 Bangladeshi firms can export to the following markets:

• Regulated: Square Pharmaceuticals, the only Bangladeshi pharmaceutical firm accredited in a regulated market, received the UK’s regulatory approval in May 2007. The largest barriers to regulated markets are manufacturing facilities which come at a cost of at least $50 million and know-how.• Moderately Regulated: Some markets, such as Tanzania and Malaysia, are moderately regulated. While countries do not always require stringent certification, a certification from a regulated market signifies quality and provides a firm with a competitive advantage.• Unregulated: Most Bangladeshi pharmaceuticals are exported to less than fully regulated markets such as Bhutan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Vietnam and Myanmar.

The majority of Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical exports are from Novartis/Sandoz, as shown in Table 2. Novartis/Sandoz, an MNC operating in Bangladesh, has approximately 25 manufacturing sites globally (Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries 2005). Bangladesh is one of its smaller sites. The Bangladeshi manufacturing site is an EU certified plant which produces about 500 million tablets a year and generates about $35-$40 million in sales. It has been growing rapidly—15-18% per year—and is responsible for a significant portion of Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical export growth. It imports APIs, acquires packaging domestically, and manufactures final formulations in Bangladesh for export of $12 million or for sale to the domestic market ranging from $23-$28 million.17

Exporting a pharmaceutical product is challenging. Each country has its own product regulations, registration requirements, language requirements, cultural preferences, national packaging requirements, and industry protection mechanisms. Sales on the global market are quite competitive with firms from around the world vying for business. Furthermore, initiating exports requires a significant investment in money, time and paperwork to register the product in the target country. As generic products are branded in less regulated markets, pharmaceutical firms also need to make significant investments in sales and marketing to create product demand. All these investments are made without a guarantee of future sales.

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INVESMENT OPPORTUNITIES

1. AGRO-BASED INDUSTRY

Sector Highlights:

* Bangladesh has a tropical climate, a lot of fresh water, indeed a land interspersed with numerous rivers, fertile soil and possibility to cultivate crops round the year. So, it is unique to supply raw materials for the agro-based industry.* Fruits and vegetable production has increased significantly in recent years.* Government and NGOs have been conducting regular training programs in developing skilled manpower for agro-based industry.* Substantial demand supply gap in the agro-based industry both in the domestic and international market.

Industry Incentives:

* Specially arranged Equity Entrepreneurship Fund for development of agro-based industry.* Special loan facilities available to set up an agro-based industry.* Agro-based industry enjoys tax holiday.* Any investment in this sector will enjoy similar tax amnesty as available in other sectors.* Imposition of supplementary duty on mango, orange, grape, apples, dates and others to utilize the high quality and cheaper local resources.* Cash incentive to the exporters ranges from 15% to 20% in various sub-sectors.

Sector Background:

Being an agrarian economy, agriculture has dominated in the economy for years. It has fulfilled the preconditions of access to input and raw materials in setting up successful agro-based industries. Alluvial soil, a year-round frost-free environment, adequate water supply and abundance of cheap labor are available in Bangladesh. Increased cultivation of vegetables, spices and tropical fruits now grown in Bangladesh could supply raw materials to local agro-processing industries for both domestic and export markets. In 2005-06, Export of agricultural products accounted for about 1.00% of total export amounting US$ 76.24 million.

Industry Outlook:

To avail the competitive and comparative advantages, Bangladesh invites progressive agricultural practices, improved marketing technique and modern processing facilities. The government emphasizes development of the agricultural sector through appropriate measures to increase crop sector productivity and production of non-crop agriculture by providing increased credit, and facilitating greater access to inputs and modern

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technology. Investment interests in setting up agro-based industries in Bangladesh are highly encouraged.

To promote agro-based industries and attract investment in this sector, Board of Investment organized ‘Agri-Invest 2003 Bangladesh’ in December 2003. This first ever exposition created huge interest among the foreign and local investors.

2. FROZEN FOODS

Sector Highlights:

1. Government is promoting semi-intensive shrimp farming. 2. Fish and prawn exports grew at an average 20% in the past decade. 3. Shrimp processing and export industry is largely dominated by the smaller unorganized sector.

Industry Outlook

The frozen foods export is the second largest export sector of the country. After some initial difficulties in terms of quality achievement, exporters have earned credibility and trustworthiness in the global market. Assurance of reliable and continued product quality is a major challenge in this sector. Technology orientation, marketing perceptions, and quality improvement aspects invite foreign investment in this sector. The current challenges of international trading are largely dictated by price, quality, time and service.

* Hatcheries* Sustainable aqua-culture technology* Feed meals plants* Processing unit for value-added products.

Investment in frozen food sector with new technology and equipment has a vast potential for growth.

Industry Outlook

Frozen food sub-sector has credible opportunities in Middle East, EU and North American countries and Far Eastern countries. In 2004-05, total fish production was 22.16 lack metric tons of which 8.82 metric .tons were shrimp. At present, there are 868 fish hatcheries and farm of which 2.18 lack hectors of shrimp farm. This export-oriented industry includes the following sub-sectors, which need proper attention for augmentation of production, attain international standard quality and export earnings.

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3. NATURAL GAS-BASED INDUSTRIES

Sector Highlights

* Bangladesh has a net recoverable gas reserve of approximately 28.4 TCF of which primary recoverable is 20.51 TCF.* Amount of gas production till January, 05 was 6.033 TCF.* Joint venture opportunities between BPDB and private sector are open.* There is a huge demand for fertilizer in Bangladesh as the agriculture is the principal sector of the economy.* Usage of indigenous resources and conservation of environment are important policy concerns of the Government.* Introduction of CNG fuelling in the metropolises has geared the need for establishment of sufficient CNG Distribution Stations.

Industry Incentives:

Energy and Power sector has significant investment incentives like:

* Tax holiday for 15 years.* Tax exemption from interest payable on foreign loans.* Tax exemption from royalties, technical know-how and technical assistance fees payable.* Tax exemption from profit arising from transfer of shares.

Industry Situation:

Among the three main operators in power sector, until recently, BPDB was the sole public sector power generator in Bangladesh. It is also responsible for transmission and distribution of electricity outside Dhaka and in some rural areas. DESA is responsible for transmission and distribution of electricity in and around Dhaka – the largest load center in Bangladesh. REB distributes electricity in rural areas through operating Palli Bidyut Samities (PBSs). All of them are controlled by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR). PDB at presents owns some 3,091 MW of generation capacity.

With the increasing growth in industry, commerce and household usage, the demand for electricity in Bangladesh is enormous. It is assumed that the power demand will increase at around 6% per annum in the upcoming years.

CNG is a highly efficient, eco-friendly and cost-effective fuelling option for motorized vehicles. It could also make significant cross-savings in the health sector and reduce public health hazard. The increasing demand for maintaining air quality in metropolises like Dhaka has become the nation’s top-most priority. As such, two-stroke petrol fuelled taxies are being replaced with CNG-fuelled taxies. Other vehicles are also being converted to CNG orientation. At present we have 117 CNG filling station and 72 conversion workshops. There are 46501 CNG driven cars in Bangladesh and no. is

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increasing. Also steps have taken to set up more CNG filling station with the financial assistance of World Bank.

4. STEEL

Sector Highlights

* Iron has been a vital material in technology for well over three thousand years.* Usage of steel products in Bangladesh increased remarkably in 80s when this industry flourished due to relaxation/liberalization of country’s Industrial Policy.* World crude steel production for the 63 countries reporting to the International Iron and Steel Institute stood at an estimated 81.7 million metric tons in October 2003.* Steel industry in Bangladesh has huge potential of growth in the coming years. Industry Background and Status

Steel Production in BangladeshUsage of steel products in Bangladesh increased remarkably in 80s when this industry flourished due to relaxation/liberalization of country’s Industrial Policy. Until 1987, people had to depend on imported CI sheet and on the only state-owned Chittagong Steel Mills Limited, which produced small quantity of CI sheet/GP sheet. Statistics showed the use of CI/GP sheet rose to 4.85 lakh metric tons in 1999 from 1.00 lakh metric tons of 1987. In this backdrop to meet up this huge demand, production of GP/CI sheets in private sector began in 1987. This industry expanded rapidly in recent times.

In Bangladesh, there are about 300 manufacturing units to produce steel and steel products. In terms of the products diversity, these manufacturing plants could be categorized into at least six broad categories like:

* Billets used as feedstock to merchant mills, section mills, wire rod and seamless tube mills etc ;* Finished long products e.g. wire rods, rebars, plain rounds, squares, flats, angles, channels, beams, rails etc;* Plates used in production of boilers, merchant ships, off-shore platforms, line pipes, railway coaches, wagons and locomotives, structures etc;* HR Coils /sheets mainly used for manufacture of pipes and tubes and as feedstock to cold rolling units;* CR Coils/sheets used for production of automobiles, consumer durables, galvanized sheets, metal products etc;* Galvanized sheets used in consumer durable industries and domestic applications including GP / CI sheets.

Recent implementation status Survey by BOI, revealed that annual installed capacity of 48 GP/CI sheet units registered with BOI are 6.74 lakhs MT and their average production was 4.70 lakh MT.

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According to statistics, on an average, about 5.14 lakhs MT BP Sheet/CR Coil were imported annually from 1996 to 1999. In response to the huge demand for BP sheet/ CR coil, entrepreneurs became keen to set up CR coil industry to produce it locally. During 2001-02, three CR Coil manufacturing units were established in the country. The total annual production capacity of these three industries is 2.66 lakh MT. To date, nine CR coil/sheet manufacturing units have been established, seven are in operation and rest two will go to very soon. The total annual installed capacity of these nine industries is 9.51 lakhs MT and the estimated investment is Tk. 8.83 billion. Table 6.5 summarizes the steel plants registered with BOI during FY 2002-03.

Bangladesh has around 250 Steel Re-rolling Mills consisting of five large automatic units. The country’s only state-owned major steel producer Chittagong Steel Mills was closed permanently by the Government in July 1999. The open-hearth furnaces had crude steel making capacity of 150,000 metric tons per year. The mill produced angles, blooms, and plates and also operated three hot-dip galvanizing lines fed by imported coil. Bangladesh consumed 2 million metric tons per year of finished steel, and the deficiencies were met by imports (Metal Bulletin, 2002).

Demand and Supply Scenario:

The demand for steel is highly correlated to the growth of investment in the industrial sector. Above Table 6.6 presents the projected demand scenario of steel products at present and the FY 2007-08. There remains a substantial demand-supply gap in the steel products. With the increasing investment in infrastructure, construction, machinery, railway machinery like locomotives, wagons, coaches; refinery machinery, pipelines; household appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators, consumer durables; ship-breaking and other steel intensive segments, the demand for steel is growing.

Steel Imports

Given the local production constraint, Bangladesh imports substantial amount of steel and steel products from a number of countries. Table 6.4 presents last 5-year data on import of iron, steel and steel products. Major sources of steel products include Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, North Korea, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Turkey, UK and the USA.

Export Potential

There remains a substantial market for steel products in the neighboring South Asian countries like Myanmar, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal etc. Export of CI Sheets have already started to Middle East, Sri Lanka, Singapore, China, and some African countries like Sierra Leone, Senegal, Uganda, Angola, Mozambique, Ghana etc. There also remains export potentials for billets, slabs, reinforcement bars and plates. Table 6.6 presents the recent export data of steel and steel products.

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5. CEREMICS

Sector Highlights

* Global market of ceramic tableware is about US$ 10 billion.* Bangladesh Ceramic tableware has a good reputation is the international market like North America and EU countries.* Bangladesh has achieved technical expertise on ceramic tableware manufacturing.* Historically, tableware industry is labor-intensive and Bangladesh has a skilled manpower in ceramic industry.* Sanitary ware and insulator has also a domestic and international market demand.* The clean gas reserve required for firing is a great competitive advantage for Bangladesh.

Industry Status

A few ceramic tableware manufacturers dominate the industry producing high quality products for the international brands. A pool of skilled manpower has been developed. The latest technological advancements in ceramic are also acquainted. Bangladesh produces high quality Bone China transferring the technology from Japan. The domestic market is also attractive. Some low-quality tableware is imported mainly from China to cater the demand of lower segment of the domestic market.

Industry Outlook

Global ceramic tableware industry is currently going through a phase of acquisition and consolidation as smaller industries in the developed countries are becoming uncompetitive and bankrupt. As a result, the big names like Noritake, Wedgewood, Lenox, Villeroy & Boch and Royal Doulton are all individually becoming billion-dollar operations.

Historically, tableware industry is labor-intensive and even after spending billions of dollars on automation, developed countries could not reduce the number of workforce according to their expectations. As a result, the cost of production will always remain extremely high in developed countries and the premium brands are only surviving because they are charging huge price to the consumers for their brand equity.

Bangladesh, being a gas-rich and low-labor-cost economy, offers to be strategic partners in production and supply of ceramic products. Investment interests in this sector are strongly encouraged. The growing sanitaryware and insulator items has a large domestic market. Besides, international market, both in terms of demand and access, is highly potential.

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JUTE

The importance of one cash crop overshadows all else as the source of Bangladesh's export earnings. Bangladesh is the world's largest producer of jute, a fibrous substance used in making burlap, sacks, mats, rope and twine, and carpet backing. Jute is sold on the international market either raw or in the form of manufactured goods. This so-called "golden fiber" is cultivated on the same land as rice; thus each season farmers must decide which crop to plant.

During the colonial period, when East Bengal was used by the British to produce primary goods for processing elsewhere, raw jute was the main product. Calcutta became the manufacturing center where jute was transformed into twine and rope, sacking material, and carpet backing. The partition of British India in 1947 put an international boundary between the source of the basic commodity and the manufacturing center and imposed a great burden on Pakistan to compensate for the disruption of the industry that was its greatest source of foreign earnings. Between 1947 and 1971 jute mills were constructed in East Pakistan, but industrialization proceeded slowly.

In the 1960s, petroleum-based synthetics entered the market, competing with jute for practically all of its uses. The upheavals culminating in the emergence of independent Bangladesh drove many traditional buyers of jute to shift to synthetics. World trade in jute and jute goods declined absolutely from 1.8 million tons in 1970 to 1.5 million tons in 1982. Despite some major year-to-year swings, prices fell precipitously through the mid-1980s. Prices were too low to cover the costs of production, but the government nonetheless deemed it essential to subsidize growers and industry and ensure the continued existence of as large a foreign market as possible. Ironically, Bangladesh's indispendable foreigh exchange earner was thus itself a drain on the economy.

There have been enormous year-to-year fluctuations both of producer prices and of production. An extreme example occurred between FY 1984 and FY 1986. Carry-over stocks had been run down since the previous production surge in FY 1980, and serious floods in 1984 resulted in unanticipated production losses. The price doubled to US$600 per ton at the export level, which triggered the traditional response of farmers; they planted much more of their land in jute, and between one year and the next production rose more than 50 percent, from 5.1 million bales in FY 1985 to 8.6 million bales the following year. History proved true to itself yet again when export prices then fell by 50 percent at the export level and by more than 30 percent at the farm-gate level. The drop would have been even greater had the government not intervened. It bought 30 percent of the crop through the Bangladesh Jute Corporation and persuaded private mills to buy more raw jute than justified by their own projections of demand.

Jute is a highly labor-intensive crop, much more so than rice, but the yield per hectare is also higher than is generally achieved for rice. When the farm-gate price for jute is 50 percent higher than the price for rice, farmers respond by planting more land in jute at the expense of rice. With the expansion of irrigation facilities in the 1980s, the economic incentives to stick with rice have increased, but there may be scope for increasing jute

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production by substituting it for the low-yield broadcast aus rice grown on unirrigated land during the same season as jute.

The fact that jute production is so labor intensive has played to Bangladesh's strength, given the country's large rural underemployment. Because wage rates in Bangladesh have been lower than in other jute-producing countries and because Bangladesh has the ideal growing conditions for jute, the country has benefited from encouraging its production even when world price and demand projections have offered bleak prospects. High as Bangladesh's share of world trade has been--in 1985 it amounted to 77 percent of all raw jute trade and 45 percent of jute goods--there are realistic possibilities for expanding the share still further. The World Bank has estimated that Bangladesh's share could rise to 84 percent for raw jute and 55 percent for manufactures. Jute production appeared in the late 1980s to be an essential part of the long-term development plan because, for all the troubles and struggles associated with its planting and marketing, no alternative activity offered any promise of being more profitable.

Many economists believe the key to preservation of the viability of jute as an international commodity lies in maintaining price and supply stability. That has proved a difficult task. Of thirty major primary commodities traded internationally, only about six have as much price and supply instability as jute. Demand is highly sensitive to price increases, but not nearly as sensitive to decreases; once a portion of the market is lost to synthetics, it is very difficult to win it back through price competition. For example, in FY 1986 export sales remained low despite a 35-percent decline in export prices; the fall in world oil prices had also resulted in declines in the prices of polypropylene substitutes for jute as well, and most buyers that had switched to synthetics chose not to return to jute. In the late 1980s, there was nothing in the offing to arrest the trend of several decades of decreasing global demand for jute and declines in the value of jute relative to the goods Bangladesh must import to meet the basic needs of a desperately poor economy.

The government has an ongoing responsibility to monitor the jute situation, to intervene when necessary, and to preserve the economic viability of the commodity responsible for one-third of the nation's foreign trade earnings. It sets floor prices and becomes the buyer of last resort. In 1986 buffer-stock operations were extended through the Bangladesh Jute Corporation and resulted in the government's buying 30 percent of the entire crop. These stocks then become available for use by the government-owned Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation or for sale to private mills or overseas customers. But in this case, the limitations of this government tool were demonstrated the next year, when the jute crop was of normal volume but the price of raw jute fell a further 35 percent, to the lowest levels in a decade. The government could not arrest the decline because its financial resources and storage capacity were already stretched to the breaking point.

Some hope for a better future has been placed in cooperation among jute-producing countries through the International Jute Organization, based in Dhaka. Member countries in 1988 were the producing countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Thailand and more than twenty consuming countries, including the United States. The

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goals of the fledgling International Jute Organization were appropriately modest to begin with, centering on better dissemination of basic information, coordination of agricultural and industrial research and of economic studies, and steps toward coordination of marketing. It remained to be seen in mid-1988 whether this poorly financed new organization, representing the first feeble effort at a coordinated approach to the problems of jute, would be effective in arresting its long decline as an important international commodity.

d. Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC): BJMC produced 113 thousand metric tons of jute goods during FY 2006-07 exported 102 thousand metric tons worth Tk. 4385 million. It also sold locally 18 thousand metric ton of Jute products worth Tk. 560 million. The contribution to the National Exchequer towards payment of duties and fees by the BJMC mills in FY 2006-07 is Tk. 24.2 million.

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TOURISM IN BANGLADESH

Tourism in Bangladesh is a slowly developing foreign currency earner. The country has much to attract international and domestic tourists.

In the northern part, comprising of the Rajshahi division, there are archaeological sites, including the temple city Puthia in Rajshahi; the largest and most ancient archaeological site, Mahasthangarh in Bogra; the single largest Buddhist monastery, Paharpur in Naogaon; the most ornamental terracota Hindu temple in Bangladesh Kantaji Temple, and many rajbaris or palaces of old zamindars.

In the south-western part, mainly the Khulna Division, there is the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest of the world with Royal Bengal Tiger and spotted deer. The historically and architecturally important sixty domed mosque in Bagerhat is a notable site.

In the south-eastern part, which is the Chittagong division, there are mainly natural and hilly scenarios along with sandy sea beaches. The most notable beach is the longest unbroken sandy sea beach in the world in Cox's Bazaar.

In the north-eastern part, Sylhet division, there is a green carpet of tea plants on small hillocks. Natural reserved forests are great attractions. Migratory birds in winter, particularly in the haor areas, are also very attractive in this area.

CHITTAGONG

The second largest city Chittagong was termed as " a sleeping beauty emerging from the mist and water" in the 7th century and "Ports Grande" in the 16th century. This large and thriving port city has developed amidst lively and lovely natural surroundings studded with green-clad, coconut palms, mosques, minarets and shrines of Muslim saints as well as Buddhist and Hindu temples against the background of the silver blue waters of the Bay of Bengal. Chittagong is connected with Dhaka by rail, road and air and with India, Thailand and Middle East countries by air. Good accommodation is available in hotels and motels.

COX's BAZAR

A small town founded in 1798 A.D. by Captain Cox of East India Company. Cox's Bazar has one of the longest sea beaches in the world. Well protected by greenclad jungle slopes on one side and the sea shore on the other, it is a small exquisite town with a mixed population speaking Bangla and some Burmese. Good accommodation and eating facilities are available at the tourist motels, cottages and hotels. Cox's Bazar is connected with Chittagong and Dhaka by road and air.

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RANGAMATI

Rangamati, the headquarters of Chittagong Hill Tracts region, is on the eastern bank of the famous Kaptai lake. It is inhabited by colourful and hospitable tribal folks. Rangamati is connected with Chittagong by road and with Kaptai by water ways. Accommodation is available at a reasonable cost with the tourist motels and cottages situated at scenic spots on the bank of the lake. Mechanised and country boats are available for cruise in the lake.

KHULNA

Gateway to the Sundarbans, the home of the Royal Bengal Tigers, Khulna is an industrial and commercial city and the Divisional Headquarters. The Mongla Sea Port is located nearby. Some of the biggest jute mills in the country are located here. Khulna is connected with Dhaka by rail, road, river and air.

SHUNDARBAN

Fascinating tropical forest covering 2,316 square miles of deltaic swamp alongwith the coastal fringe of the southern most part of Bangladesh. The Sundarbans is the natural habitat of many of the wild life like crocodile, dotted deer , python, wild bear, monkey and the famous Royal Bengal Tiger.

RAJSHAHI

The royal seat of the Pala kings of ancient Bengal, Rajshahi is the main centre of sericulture, mangoes, lichis and spices. A centre of education and culture, Rajshahi has a rich museum with research facility for study of ancient history and culture. It is connected with Dhaka by air, road and rail.

BOGRA

This district town serves as the nerve centre of northern Bangladesh and the entrance to the oldest archaeological site of the 3rd century B.C. It is connected with Dhaka by rail and road.

SYLHET

The land of tea gardens. Sylhet is famous for its Manipuri tribe and their dances. Its cane and cane products are equally fascinating. The hills in the north add to its natural beauty. It is connected with Dhaka by rail, road and air.

MAINAMATI

Five miles to the west of Comilla town, lies a range of low hills known as the Mainamoti-Lalmai range. It was an important seat of Buddhist culture. Large scale excavations have revealed valuable facts about Buddhist rulers who flourished here as independent kings

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during the 7th and 8th centuries. The whole range of hillocks, about 11 miles long, is believed to be studded with more than 50 Buddhist archaeological sites.

KUAKATA

Kuakata, the 25 KM long sea beach situated at the periphery of the southern part of Patuakhali is a potential tourist resort. It provides a unique opportunity to witness both sun rise and sun set. The local Rakhain population has rich cultural tradition and their hospitality is well known. The 200 acres dense forest gives the beach a pleasant look and it serves as a wall against tidal bore. A Buddhist pagoda is located at the sea-shore and a statue of Buddha weighing over 1.5 metric tons is preserved inside the Pagoda.

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CHAPTER FIVE

“THREATS”

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NATURAL DISASTERS

Climate change now occupies the top of the environmental concerns that impede progress in socioeconomic development and threaten human security. Global warming resulting from various human activities causes sea level rise that affects low level coastal areas in the deltas and island nations of the world. In 1990, the Intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) projected that with a business as usual scenario of green house gas emission, the world would be 3.30C warmer by 2100 that will cause about one meter rise in the sea level from thermal expansion and melting of glaciers.

Bangladesh now supports about 145 million people within a land area of 144 km2. It ranks 11th in the league table of the world with regard to population. With a density of population of over 1000 per km2 Bangladesh has the distinction of being the most densely settled country of the world except Singapore. The country has made remarkable progress in reducing population growth from three to 1.4 percent per year over the last three decades and has accelerated economic growth from four percent per year during the first two decades of independence to over six percent during this decade. But the population is still growing at 1.4 percent adding two million new mouths to be fed every year. The labor force of about 54 million has been increasing by 1.5 million annually. Feeding the growing population, improving the quality of the vast human resource, and generating productive employment for them are big challenge for the policy makers in the country.

Bangladesh is situated on deltas of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas: The Ganges unites with Jamuna (the main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually empty in the Bay of Bengal. The country is sloping gently from the north to the south, meeting the Bay of Bengal in the southern end. The three major rivers and their numerous tributaries carry water from the catchments of the Himalayas and flood a third of the country in normal years. When they rise at the same time and the draining to the sea is impeded by high tide in the sea, the country suffers disastrous floods with inundation of over 50 percent of the land area. Over the last thirty seven years of its independence, Bangladesh suffered such devastating floods in 1974, 1987, 1988, 1998, 2004, and 2007. Floods are becoming more frequent allegedly due to climate change.

The frequency and intensity of natural disasters is projected to increase with climate change and sea level rise. We have already noted that abnormal floods that inundate morethan a third of the country occur with greater frequency. The recent floods takes longer time to drain, occurs at a later part of the crop with little opportunity for recovery of crop, and affects towns and cities with huge damage to infrastructure and industrial assets. Rising sea levels will impede drainage of water southwards from the Himalayas terrain by the major rivers. This feed back effect can cause penetration of heavier floods further inland. The storm surge during cyclone may increase to over 9 meters with heavier risks loss of human and animal lives and destruction of assets. It may be mentioned here that with frequent exposure to natural disasters, Bangladeshi people have developed resilience against with learning of how to cope with them. The government and the civil society have also demonstrated greater effectiveness in managing relief and rehabilitation efforts.

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The farmers in the severe flood-affected zones have changed land use and cropping patterns that helped minimize damage to agriculture and loss of crops. The building of cyclone shelters though inadequate in number, and an improved system of cyclone warnings have helped reduce dead tolls from severe cyclones. The natural disasters now cause more damage to infrastructures such as house, factories, roads and other transport network, industrial and business capital, and educational and health institutions. A severely affected sector is inland fisheries that have vastly expanded in recent years.

SEA LEVEL

The projected sea level rise poses a significant threat to human security in Bangladesh, a densely settled country in the world that has 710 km long coast to the Bay of Bengal. A one meter rise in the sea level will affect the vast coastal area and the inland flood zones that might be subjected to increased frequency of cyclones and floods from which the country already suffer. It will pose increased threat of damage to infrastructures, destruction of fisheries, reduction of cultivated land, crop failures and the loss of biodiversity.

Sea level rise will affect food and agricultural production by increasing the intensity of salinity intrusion in the dry season and the depth of flooding in the wet season from tidal fluctuations. The climate change will increase the frequency of cyclones and occasional depressions that affect agricultural production through heavy rains and increased velocity of winds. Salinity intrusion will decrease agricultural production by degrading soils and reducing availability of fresh water. Already nearly one million ha of land in the east and the western coast suffer from soil salinity which inhibits adoption of improved varieties of rice that helped achieve a respectable growth in food production in other parts of Bangladesh. In the coastal districts farmers still grow mostly tradition lowyielding varieties and keep the land fallow in the dry season due to higher intensity of soil and water salinity. The Barisal region (the central coast) was once the food basket of the country, but it has now become a food deficit region due to continued pressure of population on fragile land resources, and the sluggish growth in agricultural production. Sea level rise will further aggravate the unfavorable growing conditions for most agricultural crops.

It is difficult to predict the direction of impact of sea level rise on fisheries which is an important source of livelihood of the coastal population at present. Inundated fields and expansion of estuaries may increase the fish habitat which may have a favorable impact on fisheries production. Many low lying fields in the coastal belt have now been turned into fish ponds with marginal investments. Shrimp farming has spread in the region due to availability of brackish water which is much more profitable than rice farming and is an important source of foreign exchange earning for the country. The area under shrimp farms have increased from only 1,330 ha in 1975 to 116,000 ha in 2004. But shrimp farming has allegedly caused damage to environment and contributed to growing socio-economic inequity in the region. Higher frequency of cyclones, intensity of tidal surge, and flooding would make inland fisheries a more risky venture in the region.

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Sea level rise may also increase the risk of health hazards by spreading communicable diseases (such as diarrhea) due to lack of pure drinking water. Increased stress on the fresh water zone by saline sea water will decrease drinking water availability in the region. Due to soil salinity use of tube wells as a source of drinking water is rare in the region. People usually use ponds as a source of drinking water. The ponds get contaminated with fallen twigs and leaves of trees during high winds. Outbreak of diarrhea and cholera is a major health risk after every cyclone because of people drinking contaminated water from ponds.

The Sundarbans, one of the largest mangrove forests of the world located in the south-western coast will also be inundated by the sea level rise. The site is home to many of unique species of plants and rich in biodiversity. Sea level rise will cause rise in the salinity concentration in the water and soil in the Sundarbans. Increased salinity will change the habitat pattern of the forest and may increase disease pressure for many species. Aquatic organisms might migrate inwards because of increased salinity. Some fear that the sea level rise might destroy the Sundarban entirely causing great loss to biodiversity. It will affect livelihoods of several million people dependent on forests. It will also weaken protection of coastal people from cyclones as the mangrove swamps serve as natural barriers against strong winds and tidal surges.

CYCLONES

The Bangladesh coast is often devastated by severe cyclonic storms and tidal surges that take heavy toll on human lives, infrastructure and livelihoods. The devastation caused by three major cyclones occurred in 1970, 1985, 1991 and 2007 are still vivid in the memory of the present generation. The November 1990 cyclone with a tidal surge of over nine meters was accountable for death of 500,000 plus people. The neglect of relief and rehabilitation in its aftermath by the central government is considered a major factor behind the breakup of Pakistan and the independence of Bangladesh in 1971. The cycloneof April 1991 in the eastern coast caused a death toll 139,000 people with an estimated economic loss of US$ 1.78 billion. The most recent cyclone, Sidr, which struck the southwestern coast on November 15, 2007 with a wind velocity of up to 250 km per hour took a toll of 3,3363 people with another 871 missing. It affected 2.06 million households and 8.96 million people and destroyed crops in about 2.5 million ha of land.

The Bay of Bengal is the breeding ground for tropical cyclones and Bangladesh is the worst victim in terms of fatalities and economic losses incurred. The global distribution of cyclones shows that only 1% of all the cyclones that form every year strike Bangladesh, but, unfortunately, the fatalities they cause are 53% of the whole world total.4 The following table lists a few of the devastating cyclones that have affected Bangladesh.

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FLOOD

Bangladesh is a low land country. Most of it is located within the flood plains of three great rivers, which is the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, and the Meghna, their tributaries, anddistributaries. The river systems drain a total area of about 1.72 million square kilometers in India, China, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. Only 8% of this area lies within Bangladesh.

As a result, huge inflows of water, which Bangladesh has no control, enter the country. The lack of control is a critical problem because Bangladesh has an agrarian economy dependent on water. At different times and in an unpredictable manner it has too much ortoo little water. The intricate network of alluvial rivers carries a huge annual discharge and sediment load, causing channel shifting and bank erosion. Withdrawals in upstream areas seriously affect socioeconomic growth, the environment, and the ecology. The habitat of fish, which is a major source of protein for the rural poor, is under threat from the increasing conversion of land to agricultural use. Inland navigation is hindered by blockages in the river delta. Meanwhile, the need for pure water is increasing along with the salinization of the coastal belt and the degradation of ecosystems.

As an example of the above described situation, during the July 2004 event, the Megna River peaked, and Jamuna and Padma Rivers burst their banks. As a result, 36 million people, 25% of the total population, was affected, and 38% of the whole area of the country was flooded for nearly 55 days. To further complicate the scenario, in September of the same year, monsoon rains three times larger than normal flooded new areas.5 The flood of 1988 during August-September inundated an area of 89,000 sq km of 52 districts of the country and caused a loss of 1,517 human lives. The 1998 flood in Bangladesh with an unprecedented duration of 65 days inundated 53 districts, covering about 100,000 sq km, and took the lives of 918 people. Beside this, the severe floods of 1822, 1854, 1922, 1955, 1966, 1974, 1987, and 2002 are worth mentioning.

Chronology of big floods:

1954 On August 2, Dhaka district went under water. On August 1 flood peak of the jamuna river at Sirajganj was 14.22m and on August 30 flood peak of the Ganges river at hardinge bridge was 14.91m.

1955 More than 30% of Dhaka district was flooded. The flood level of the buriganga exceeded the highest level of 1954.

1962 The flood occurred twice, once in July and again in August and September. Many people were affected and crops and valuable properties were damaged.

1966 One of the most serious floods that ever visited Dhaka occurred on 8 June 1966. The flood level was almost the highest in the history of Sylhet district too. A storm on the morning of 12 June 1966 made the situation grave. About 25% of houses were badly damaged, 39 people died and 10,000 cattle were lost, and

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about 1,200,000 people were affected. On September 15 Dhaka city became stagnant due to continuous rainfall for 52 hours, which resulted in pools of water 1.83m deep for about 12 hours.

1968 Severe flood in Sylhet district and about 700,000 people were badly affected.

1969 Chittagong district fell in the grip of flood caused by heavy rainfall. Crops and valuable property were damaged

1974 In Mymensingh about 10,360 sq km area was flooded. People and cattle were severely affected and more than 100,000 houses were destroyed.

1987 Catastrophic flood occurred in July-August. Affected 57,300 sq km (about 40% of the total area of the country) and estimated to be a once in 30-70 year event. Excessive rainfall both inside and outside of the country was the main cause of the flood. The seriously affected regions were on the western side of the Brahmaputra, the area below the confluence of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, considerable areas north of Khulna and finally some areas adjacent to the Meghalaya hills.

1988 Catastrophic flood occurred in August-September. Inundated about 82,000 sq km (about 60% of the area) and its return period is estimated to be 50-100 years. Rainfall together with synchronisation of very high flows of all the three major rivers of the country in only three days aggravated the flood. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, was severely affected. The flood lasted 15 to 20 days.

1989 Flooded Sylhet, sirajganj and maulvi bazar and 600,000 people were trapped by water.

1993 Severe rains all over the country, thousands of hectares of crops went under water. Twenty-eight districts were flooded.

1998 Over two-thirds of the total area of the country was flooded. It compares with the catastrophic flood of 1988 so far as the extent of flooding is concerned. A combination of heavy rainfall within and outside the country, synchronisation of peak flows of the major rivers and a very strong backwater effect coalesced into a mix that resulted in the worst flood in recorded history. The flood lasted for more than two months.

2000 Five southwestern districts of Bangladesh bordering India were devastated by flood rendering nearly 3 million people homeless. The flood was caused due to the outcome of the failure of small river dykes in West Bengal that were overtopped by excessive water collected through heavy downpour.

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EARTHQUAKE

Bangladesh lies in the Burma basin, which was formed by the continentcontinent collision of India to the north, and subduction of ocean crust beneath the Burma continental crust to the east. Bangladesh is surrounded by regions of high seismicity, which include the Himalayan Arc and Shillong Plateau in the north, the Burmese Arc, Arakan Yoma anticlinorium in the east, and complex Naga Disang-Haflong thrust zone in the northeast.The country has a long history of seismic activity related to its proximity to the Himalayas.

Three great earthquakes of magnitudes exceeding 8 were felt in 1897, 1934, and 1950, and another four earthquakes exceeding magnitude 7 were felt between 1869 and 1950. Major seismic sources are the Meghalaya (8.0), Tripura (7.0), Sub-Dauki (7.3), and Bogra (7.0), all of them with associated earthquakes of expected magnitudes higher or equal to 7.0.8

ARSENIC

Nearly 40,000 people showing the skin lesions symptoms characteristic of arsenicosis have been identified in Bangladesh. Arsenicosis symptoms can include lesions, hardening of the skin, dark spots on hands and feet, swollen limbs and loss of feeling from hands and legs. Lesions are easily infected, pose a threat of gangrene and can be very painful. While there is a long latency of more than 20 years, lesions can appear more quickly if arsenic concentrations are very high. However, these symptoms are usually reversible if detected early and people stop drinking arsenic-contaminated water.

Long-term exposure to arsenic can cause serious health problems including internal cancers of the skin, lungs, bladder and kidney, which can be fatal. These cancers can occur without the skin lesions. Most of the deaths caused by arsenic are expected to be from lung cancer. Studies have shown exposure to arsenic contaminated water can also cause impaired cognitive development in children. Malnourished people are twice as likely to develop arsenicosis as well-nourished people. There is no known cure for chronic arsenic poisoning.

However, people suffering from arsenicosis can recover more rapidly from skin lesions when they eat nutritious food or take multi-vitamin supplements. Lotions containing urea and salicylic acid can ease the pain of skin lesions, and also help to speed recovery.

Social Impacts:People with arsenic poisoning suffer enormous social stigma in Bangladesh. Many peoplebelieve arsenic poisoning is contagious or a curse. Parents are reluctant to let their children play with children suffering arsenic poisoning and patients can be shunned within their villages. For women, the situation is worse. In Bangladesh, a woman's attractiveness lies in her beauty which is often judged by her pale complexion. This makes it harder, in some cases impossible, for single women suffering from arsenic

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poisoning to marry. Once married, women face the risk of divorce if they develop arsenicosis skin lesions. This can be a dire situation in Bangladesh's male-dominated society, where unmarried women are more vulnerable to poverty and social exclusion. Women are also less likely to receive early diagnosis or treatment.

POLLUTION IN BANGLADESH

AIR POLLUTION:

Air Pollution contamination of the atmosphere caused by the discharge, accidental or deliberate of a wide range of toxic substances. Often the amount of the released substance is relatively high in a certain locality, so the harmful effects are more noticeable. The major sources of air pollution are transportation engines, power and heat generation, industrial processes and the burning of solid waste. A new source of air pollution is an increasing 'hole' in the ozone layer in the atmosphere above Antarctica, coupled with growing evidence of global ozone depletion. Air pollution has also long been known to have an adverse effect on human beings, plants, livestock and aquatic ecosystem through acid rain.

Recently as in other parts of the world air pollution has received priority among environmental issues in Asia. This problem is acute in dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh and also the hub of commercial activity. The other urban areas like chittagong, khulna, bogra and rajshahi have much lesser health problem related to air pollution. In urban areas sometimes the houses are built on rocks and soils, which radiate radioactive gas from their basement. If this gas is inhaled for a long time it may cause lung cancer. In the rural areas of Bangladesh, the air pollution problems have not yet become a point of concern. This is due to fewer motorised vehicles and industries there. However, brick kilns and cooking stoves are the principal sources of emission in rural areas. In villages wood, coal, and biomass are used as sources of energy. Thus, it is likely that in those areas the principal air contaminants are particulate matter and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Basically, there are two major sources of air pollution in Bangladesh industrial emissions and vehicular emissions. The industrial sources include brick kilns, fertiliser factories, sugar, paper, jute and textile mills, spinning mills, tanneries, garment, bread and biscuit factories, chemical and pharmaceutical industries, cement production and processing factories, metal workshops, and wooden dust from saw mills and dusts from ploughed land, and salt particles from ocean waves near the offshore islands and coastal lands. These sources produce enormous amount of smokes, fumes, gases and dusts, which create the condition for the formation of fog and smog. Certain industries in Bangladesh, such as tanneries at Hazaribag in Dhaka City, emit hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, chlorine, and some other odorous chemicals that are poisonous and cause irritation and public complaints. This may cause headache and other health problems.

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With increased rate of urbanisation in the country, the number of vehicles is also increasing rapidly, and contributing to more and more air pollution. The Department of Environment (DOE), and other related organisations, have identified the two-stroke engines used in autorickshaws (baby-taxies), tempos, mini-trucks, and motorcycles as major polluters. At present, there are about 65,000 baby-taxies among them more than 296,000 motor vehicles ply in Dhaka City alone. Moreover, overloaded, poorly maintained and very old trucks and mini-buses are also plying the city streets emitting smokes and gases. In fact about 90% of the vehicles that ply Dhaka's streets daily are faulty, and emit smoke far exceeding the prescribed limit. Diesel vehicles emit black smoke, which contain unburned fine carbon particles.

The two-stroke engines are now discouraged in Bangladesh because of their pollution hazard. In view of the serious automobile pollution faced in the metropolis, an initiative was taken with World Bank support to introduce big buses in the city and discourage the ply ing of small automobiles, including baby-taxis. The introduction of air-conditioned city bus service is an outcome of that initiative.

Sophisticated equipment is now being used to detect air polluters in Bangladesh. As such, four monitoring stations are set up at four divisional towns, namely, Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, and Bogra. In Dhaka the locations of vehicular emission test are at Tejgaon, Farmgate, Manik Mia Avenue, Gulshan, Lalmatia, and Agargaon. bangladesh university of engineering and technology (BUET) has also been conducting ambient air quality surveys since 1995.

The air quality standards are different for residential, industrial, commercial, and sensitive areas. The worst affected areas in Dhaka city include: Hatkhola, Manik Mia Avenue, Tejgaon, Farmgate, Motijheel, Lalmatia, and Mohakhali. Surveys conducted between January 1990 and December 1999 showed that the concentration of suspended particles goes up to as high as 3,000 micrograms per cubic meter (Police Box, Farmgate, December 1999), although the allowable limit is 400 micrograms per cubic meter. The sulphur dioxide in the air near Farmgate was found to be 385 micrograms per cubic meter, where as the maximum permissible limit is 100 micrograms per cubic meter. Similarly, in the Tejgaon Industrial Area the maximum concentration of suspended particles was 1,849 micrograms per cubic meter (January 1997), as opposed to the allowable limit of 500 micrograms per cubic meter. Usually the maximum concentration of air pollution in Dhaka is during the dry months of December to March.

The bangladesh atomic energy commission (BAEC) and the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), in collaboration with the DOE, recently assessed the concentration of lead in the ambient air. The dhaka shishu hospital in association with the BAEC also estimated the level of lead in the blood of children of Dhaka City and the possible impact of leaded gasoline on them. The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) is also setting up a vehicle emission monitoring station at Mirpur, Dhaka.

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Prior to introduction of unleaded gasoline, BAEC reported that the air that city dwellers breathe on the roads contains lead in concentrations almost ten times above the government safety standard set by the DOE. The air of Dhaka City holds 463 nanograms per cubic meter of lead - the highest in the world. From November 96 to March 97 the lead levels in three different areas of Dhaka City were 123-252 nanograms per cubic meter at Farmgate area and 61 to 76 nanograms per cubic meter in Tejgaon Industrial area.

The lead poisoning produces neuro-developmental disorders in children. About 50 tons of lead is emitted in the Dhaka air annually and the emission reaches its highest level in the dry season from November to January. Lead poisoning has been detected recently in children at the Shishu Bikash Kendro (Child Development Centre) of Dhaka Shishu Hospital. Lead concentrations, measured around 80-micrograms/dl-to180 micrograms/dl in the tested children's blood, is 7-16 times more than the acceptable limit. The safe concentration advocated by the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention is 10 micrograms/dl. People living in urban slums have a significant rise in mean blood lead levels, compared to those living in urban middle-income or rural areas. The development of lead pollution could also affect the central nervous system, cause renal damage and hypertension. Excessive lead in the blood of children could damage-their brain and kidney. Children are three times more at risk than adults are by exposure to lead poisoning.

In Dhaka city the mean blood lead level of rickshaw pullers is 248 micrograms/dl (range 154-344 micrograms/dl), baby-taxi drivers 287 micrograms/dl, traffic police 272 micrograms/dl (range 152-32 micrograms/dl), tempo assistants 255 micrograms/dl, and petrol pump operators 249 micrograms/dl (range 207-342 micrograms/dl). The mean blood lead level among these risk groups is found to be higher than the acceptable value, with traffic police being the worst affected group. The blood lead levels usually increased with duration of exposure.

During July 1999 the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) executed the decision to provide only unleaded gasoline in the country. According to recent measurements between late 1999 and 2000 by BAEC and eastern refinery limited (ERL) the gasoline dispensed at pumps in Bangladesh is now totally free of lead.

It has been found that Dhaka city has VOC beyond tolerable limits, some of which cause cancer. Emissions from two-stroke auto-rickshaws in Dhaka were found to contain 4 to 7 times the maximum permissible level of VOC.

Dust pollution is causing many respiratory diseases, including asthma. Recently, 200 organic compounds are detected by analysing four air samples collected from the Shewrapara area of the city. As far as the VOC is concerned the following worst affected areas are identified: Hatkhola, Manik Mian Avenue, Tejgaon, Farm Gate, Motijheel, Lalmatia, and the inter-district bus terminals. Surveys conducted between December 1996 and June 1997 showed that the concentration of suspended particles goes up to as high as 2,465 micrograms per cubic metre as against the allowable limit of 400

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micrograms per cubic metre at Farm Gate. In Tejgaon Industrial Area, on the other hand, the maximum con centration of suspended particles was 630 micrograms as against the allowable limit of 500 micrograms per cubic metre.

Mine air pollution a major issue of concern in Bangladesh. Dust and mine gases create problems for coalmine. Fortunately barapukuria coal of dinajpur district has insignificant gas content, therefore, in the process of mining of coal the danger of methane emission and methane gas related hazards are considered to be insignificant. As the Barapukuria coal will be mined mechanically, huge coal dusts would be generated but proper mitigation measures if taken coal dust could be controlled. Huge dusts will also be generated in the Maddhyapara hardrock mine in Dinajpur district, due to frequent movements of heavy vehicles together with required loading and unloading operations. The gases formed by the combustion of coal, fuel and lubricants in the mine both at the surface and underground pollute the ambient air. Dusts generated from coal and hardrocks especially during cutting, blasting, crashing and transportation in the mines are generally the cause of concern for the miners and for the surrounding localities.

Water is considered polluted when it is altered from the natural state in its physical condition, and chemical and microbiological composition, so that it becomes unsuitable or less suitable for any safe and beneficial consumption. The term contamination is used synonymously with pollution. The signs of water pollution are obvious: bad taste; offensive odours from lakes, rivers and sea beaches; unchecked growth of aquatic weeds in water bodies; decrease in number of aquatic animals in surface water bodies; oil and grease floating on water surfaces; colouration of water; etc. Besides these obvious signs, there are other kinds of pollution, which are not so visible.

Sources of pollution Factories, power plants and sewage treatment plants are considered point sources of water pollution, because they emit pollutants at discrete locations, usually through a pipe that leads to a lake or stream. Nonpoint sources of water pollution are scattered or diffused. Cropland, forests, urban and suburban lands, roadways, and parking lots are nonpoint sources of a variety of substances including dust, sediment, pesticides, asbestos, fertiliser, heavy metals, salts, oil, grease, litter, and even air pollutants washed down from the sky by rain.

Water pollution can also be categorised into natural and anthropogenic sources. Natural sources are those which take place without human influence. Anthropogenic pollution are those which are induced by human beings. Natural pollution can also be accentuated by human activities.

WATER POLLUTION:

Pollution takes place in all the three main sources of water, ie rain water, surface water and groundwater. Surface water is more susceptible than groundwater, which is naturally protected from surface activities.

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Rainwater pollution Acid rain damages forests and may cause significant decrease in productivity. Numerous authors have also raised concern for crop damage. Acid rain is particularly damaging to buds; therefore, acids falling on plants in springtime may impair growth. Acidification of soil may also impair soil bacteria that play an important role in nutrient cycling and nitrogen fixation. Acid rain is also capable of corroding manmade structures. Examples of such corrosion are: the Statue of Liberty, the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa and Egypt's temple at Karnak. Acid rain may also damage house paint and etch the surfaces of automobiles. There is no record of acid rain in Bangladesh. However, due to extensive air pollution in Dhaka city, it is very likely that rain water in Dhaka would be more acidic than rain water in rural areas.

Surface water pollution Surface water occurs in oceans, rivers, lakes, ponds and floodplains. It has been the source of water supply since the dawn of civilisation. But intense human activities have been polluting these readily available sources. Surface water used to be the primary source of water supply in Bangladesh, but it is no longer the case. Surface water in Bangladesh is extensively polluted by sources such as industrial and urban wastes, agrochemicals and sewerage wastes and seawater intrusion. Surface water bodies are extensively used for disposal of untreated industrial wastes and this is one of the main sources of pollution. The buriganga is a typical example of serious surface water contamination. Apart from industrial sources, surface water in the country is also extensively contaminated by human faeces as sanitation in general is poor. Agrochemicals are extensively used in the country causing pollution of surface water. Due to withdrawal of water from the ganges, seawater intrudes a long way inside the coastline which causes river water pollution by salinity. There are also other minor sources that contaminate surface water extensively.

Groundwater pollution although groundwater is not directly exposed to surface polluting activities, numerous natural and anthropogenic activities cause groundwater pollution. A number of physical, chemical and biochemical (and microbiological) processes cause alteration of groundwater properties either by addition of new elements/ions/compounds or by increasing the existing concentrations. Before the discovery of arsenic contamination in Bangladesh, groundwater used to be considered a safer source of drinking water. Arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh is now considered the world's largest case of water pollution. Groundwater in Bangladesh is also polluted by a number of anthropogenic and natural sources. The most widespread anthropogenic sources are the infiltration of industrial and urban wastes disposed on the ground or in surface water bodies. Also intrusion or infiltration of saline water contaminates groundwater. Extensive use of agrochemicals can lead to groundwater pollution. Leaking sewers/septic tanks/pit latrines also cause groundwater pollution.

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POPULATION GROWTH IN BANGLADESH

Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world having a population of about 129 million at present within a total surface area of 147,570 sq. km. The density of population is 850 per sq. km, which is one of the highest in the world. The annual growth rate of population is 1.7 percent, which has gradually declined in the recent years. The fertility rate, which is above 4 per woman, is high but is gradually declining. The sex ratio is 106: 100 male/female. About 43 percent people are below the age of 15, and as a result the dependency ratio among the people is also very high. The population structure is pyramidal where the under-aged groups (below 15 years) occupy about 43% of the total population, and the economically active population is only about 35% (45 million) of the total population. The average literacy rate is 37 percent, which is again lower in rural areas (BBS, 1996).

Rapid Growth of Urban Population:

Bangladesh has been experiencing a rapid growth in urbanization since 1961. The proportion of urban population increased gradually from 5.2 % in 1961 to 20% in 1991 with an average growth of about 7 % per year. Inability of rural economy and agriculture to absorb the growing population, a drastic fall in the availability of arable and cropped land, landlessness, fall of real income etc., pushed the rural poor to migrate to the cities. Unfortunately, majority of the recently migrated people could not be provided with good job in the formal sectors and accommodation in the cities, and most them are living in urban slums. The urban areas expanded in an unplanned way without adequate infrastructure and public amenities and facilities (including housing, water and power supply, sanitation, waste disposal) that increases air and water pollution in the city areas.

Impact of Population on Environment:

Consumption needs of a growing population exert pressure on environment in a number of ways. For meeting the additional requirement of food, either extensive or intensive cultivation or both are taken recourse to. In the former case, marginal land is brought under cultivation, which leads to erosion and loss of soil fertility. Often, people make new cropland by encroaching and clearing forests leading to degradation of forest. Deforestation in turns causes soil erosion, siltation and flooding in river basins, changes in microclimate and loss of habitat. When cultivation extends to low-lying areas, the traditional habitat of fish is encroached upon. Shrinkage of pastureland adversely affects both quantity and quality of livestock resources. In the latter case, when intensive cultivation is practiced on the same of shrinking agricultural land (due to increased demand generated for housing and construction of social and physical infrastructural facilities by the additional population, the following problems are normally encountered: increased run off and ecological hazards form chemical Fertilizers and pesticides, reduced genetic diversity in the plant population, water logging and salinity from irrigation. In order to absorb the growing labour force in productive employment, there hardly exists any option other than industrialization. Rapid urbanization putting unbearable pressure on an already overburdened system, particularly, water supply and

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sewerage, however, usually accompany this. Incidence of air pollution is also more due to an increasing number of buses, trucks and cars. Increased industrial production for meeting consumption and investment demands of a growing population uses up an increasing amount of raw materials including minerals and energy. In the process, this not only depletes the country’s natural resource base, but also adds to industrial pollution and thereby degrades the environment of the country. Environmental impacts of a growing population are much sharper in a developing country as the pursuit of development, an improvement in the standard of living and quality of life of the people, exerts grater pressure on environmental resources. Growth presupposes investment. Higher investment, therefore, obviously implies a speedier depletion of environmental resources. Development projects implemented without proper environmental impact assessment often cause major environmental hazards. When a country experiences inequitable growth i. e. when the fruits of growth are not shared equally and skewness of income distribution accentuates resource depletion, environmental degradation proceeds at a quicker pace. On the one hand, production and consumption patterns get distorted in favor of high energy intensive products demanded by the rich; on the other hand, the poor and the unemployed are forced to eke out their living from open access natural resources, such as open water fishery, resulting in depletion of stock through over-exploitation of such resources.

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RECOMMENDATION

From the discussion so far made, it is clear that there are ample for improvement of project implementation performance. The following measures may be suggested in order to overcome the problems of implementation as identified:

1. Develop indigenous skills for project implementation2. Develop technicians sensitive to national needs, constraints and opportunities

instead of imposing a well-develop system suitable for developed countries.3. Reinstate the project Evaluation Committee for proper verification and scrutiny

of the projects from the macro point of view.4. Project approval procedures should be simplified and shortcut so that valuable

time is not wasted and thus time overruns saved.5. Recruitment of project staff and foreign consultants should be made in time.6. Procurement of foreign goods should be done timely.7. There must be appropriate budget provision so that fund can be released

smoothly.8. Customs formalities should be simplified for quick clearance of the goods from

the port.9. Periodic review and evaluation should done so that inter-agency co-ordination

can be achieved.10. The creation of an independent division, probably under the cabinet security,

responsible for public procurement policy, law, procedures and documents, and oversight of public procurement.

11. The passage of a public procurement law.12. The adoption of standard rules and procedures and biddings and contract

documents and their publication.13. The adoption of procedures which would simplify and streamline procurement,

especially to reduce the number of bureaucratic layers involved.14. Some of the recommendations were particularity aimed at increasing the

transparency of procurement.15. Strategy to address the challenges of TRIPS: Each country in the region should

give the highest to formulating appropriate polices, policy measure and laws or legal provisions regarding patents and access to medicines.

16. We must have responsible and accountable governance. Responsible governance would mean the following:-

i) An efficient and responsible political system.ii) An efficient and fair bureaucracy.iii) An efficient judiciary system.iv) An enlightened and vocal public.

17. Our bureaucratic laws and not conductive to develop. Our laws need drastic changes to make them conductive to industrialization. Our Laws are still based on the colonial principal of generation instead of development. For proper project management the authority should carry out required changes in the existing laws.

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18. Facilitating export:Bangladesh has adopted an export oriented growth strategy and recognizes that in the effective operation of the multilateral trading system lies its vital interest. And rightly emphasizes for conscious policy shifts in order to facilitate growth.

Changes in the trade regime. To have contributed to a boom in export earnings. The export boom has been driven by the garments industry. And has resulted in an improvement in the current account deficit.

19. Managing foreign investment: FDI outflows present a challenge. Ensuring balance of payments sustainability will necessitate that export

earning raise commensurately. Gas and gas-based product exports provide valuable foreign exchange. Fiscal sustainability will require the power sector. Inappropriate pricing policy and continued high system loses will

undermine the benefits of FDI. Better reporting of FDI related flows is essential.

20. Reforming the financial system: Reforming the legal framework. Improving Governance

1. Good management is an important pillar of a sound banking system.

2. Improving auditing & accounting standard.3. Developing financial country systems.

Empowering Bangladesh Bank:1. A weak central bank is enforce standards.2. Overstaffing and labor unions.3. Strengthening regulatory and supervisory capacity.4. Developing professional excellence.

Restructuring the NCB and PDB. Prioritizing & sequencing. The role of Micro-credit: The recent floods have created a challenge for

the sustainability of Micro-credit. 21. Maintaining Macro Stability:

A stable macro economy environment is very much necessary by coordinating fiscal, monetary and exchange rate policies and promoting export led growth.

Fiscal stability. Managing contingent liabilities. Improving effectiveness of Government expenditures. Augmenting the revenue effort. Supportive monetary & exchange rate management. Monitory policy in recent years has been broadly supportive of the

Government’s effort to maintain macro credit stability.

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24. Managing water resources: Heavy rainfall during the monsoon period & water shortage during the annual dry season create regular fluctuation in water supply that already point to the need for planning regulating flows so as to conserve water, when it is in excess and for use, when scarcity follows:

The threats: Four distinct kinds of problems related to water supplies and their management.

-Contamination -Salinity-Shortage -Sanitation

Pollution of water resources specially drinking water. New opportunities: A number of recent development offer promising

opportunities to generate a new but realistic vision of water’s long-term future in Bangladesh and to put that vision into practice. Among the most significant are:

1. Preparation of a long-term national water plan.2. Ganges water treaty.

Indian-Bangladesh treaty for Farakka. Improve local government. Institutional reforms. Restoration of the regions fundamental resource and safeguard

these from further degradation. Sustain flows into the Gorai cost effectively & thereby check

saline instruction & project the sundrabans. Reduce national and regional dependence on ground water,

safeguarding rural, urban and industrial water supplies. Increasing agriculture production through irrigation of a least one

million hectares. Provide a vital communication link across the Ganges for traffic,

gas, and power, consulting significantly to overall economic development.

Raise the lining standards throughout the region though increased agriculture employment, food production and health standards.

Flood control and drainage. Improve barrages & water conservation structure. River training, dredging and desilation by labour

in expected to become increasingly important. Improving forecasting system of flood warning and irrigation. Regional and sub-regional cooperation in the water sactor. Estuary control for disaster management, salinity control and

conversation of fresh water could help Bangladesh to protect the coastal belt from vulnerability against storm surges.

Construction of cross dams in the coastal belt for land accretion and erosion control.

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REFERENCES

1. CIA the world fact book2. Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Informational and Statistics3. Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia4. T.C. Malhotra is a New Delhi, India-based journalist. January/February 20065. Textile World Asia.2006/20076. BBS, 2006 and Handbook Agricultural Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture7. Mazid M A, 2002. Development of Fisheries in Bangladesh8. World Bank, DANIDA, USAID, FAO, DFID, 2003. Fisheries Sector Review and

Future Development9. Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation10. Survey of Bangladesh11. Ministry of Environment and Forest12. Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources13. Ministry of Disaster Management & Relief14. Ministry of Establishment15. Ministry of Finance16. Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock17. Ministry of Industries18. Ministry of Information19. Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division20. Ministry of Water Resources21. Bangladesh economic association; Journals22. Bangladesh project management environment by Skylark Chadha23. Tea board of Bangladesh24. Managing project in Bangladesh by Skylark Chadha25. Asian development bank reports26. World bank reports27. Bangladesh Knitwear Manufactures & Exporters Association28. Board of Investment, Bangladesh29. Association of Recruiting Agencies Engaged in Manpower Export30. Petrobangla31. Sustainable Development Networking Programme32. Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Ltd.

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