March 31, 2016

Business magazine Fortune has named Honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as one of the greatest leaders of the world, endowing her the 1oth place among 50 leaders who are transforming the world and inspiring others to do the same. Describing HPM, the Fortune wrote, she is the only female leader among the Organization of Islamic Cooperation member states, who deftly navigated the competing demands of Islamic tradition and women's rights. Terming her leadership as able and prudent, it recognized her fight to secure legal protections for women and make them educated and independent.

Given that more than one fourth work has already been accomplished, the dream for the largest and the longest infrastructure undertaking in Bangladesh–Padma Multipurpose bridge-- has started to appear as a reality now, heralding a new dawn in. 30 million lives will be transformed as it will connect the southern Bangladesh to its capital Dhaka. Completely a self-funded project worth $3.65 billion, the bridge site is filled with labourers, workers and engineers who are toiling hard day and night to get it open for traffic by 2018. Capable of standing against flood and earth quake, this mega project means a symbol of hope, height, pride and change to the people of this green delta.

In accordance with the electoral promise “electricity for all by 2021”, the government signed a landmark $1.56 billion contract with a Chinese consortium for engineering, procurement and construction of a coal-fired power plant in Payra, Patuakhali, that is capable of producing 1,320MW electricity. The first unit of the power plant, which will have 660MW capacity, is expected to supply electricity by April 2019 while the second unit, with same capacity, will start generation six months later.

Transactions through mobile phones rose 47.7% year-on-year to $2.137 billion in January thanks to increased economic activities at the grassroots level, according to Bangladesh Bank data. The amounts were $1.44 billion in January last year and $912.7 million in the same month of 2014. Such an achievement is a shining testament to the government’s action to make the economy ever more inclusive and ensure that low-income people can participate in economic activities seriously and bridge economic and wealth disparity.

The government has taken action to stop the movement of shipping traffic for an indefinite period in the Shela River in the Sundarbans. A recognized UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Sundarbans, is the largest mangrove forest in the world and its waters are home to populations of endangered Irrawaddy dolphins and Ganges River dolphins, as well as a variety of other rare wildlife, including Bengal tigers. This move has been welcomed by the wildlife experts both at home and abroad.

According to government statistics, the first eight months (July-February) export earnings in the current fiscal year rose by around 9%, up from 2.35% of the target. Encouraged by this rising trend, the businesses are optimistic that the growth would continue to ride on the same trajectory, resulting in a 10% rise in this year. Among the major exportable products readymade garments posted $18.12 billion the highest to contribute up to 82% of the entire earnings.

According to a recent survey prepared by The National Food Security Nutritional Surveillance Project, the proportion of households reporting food insecurity have fallen to less than a quarter of households in 2014 from over two-thirds of households in 2011. During the monsoon of 2011, 66% of families were found to be food insecure, but the figure dropped to 26% during the time in 2014. This survey is yet another testament to prudent policies as envisaged and is being implemented by the HPM Sheikh Hasina to ensure food security for every citizen of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has played a significant role in battling militancy in the region, especially in the Northeast of India, and the Sheikh Hasina-led government should be thanked for that, says leading Indian security analyst Jaideep Saikia. About the presence of ISIS in Bangladesh, the counter terrorism expert also said that operatives of homegrown extremists and radical terror groups such as, JMB, JMJB or Huji, are now trying to piggyback on to the ISIS bandwagon. In addition, on separate massages, HPM Sheikh Hasina, has strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Lahore and Brussles.

The country has made noteworthy strides in achieving its vision of Digital Bangladesh, a pledge earmarked by the Awami League government and there is a likelihood that it could make the vision a reality before the 2021 deadline. For instance, the country has climbed four notches up in a space of four years as vindicated in the Global Service Location Index. Now, the country boasts of around 400,000 registered freelancers in BPO sector while process is underway to set up as many as 500 BPO support and training centres by the government to fetch around $ 5 billion from the sector by 2021.