Mar 15, 2018
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Bangladesh has been ranked 34th in the World Economic Forum's Inclusive Development Index's (IDI) list of emerging economies, ahead of South Asian competitors India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka but behind Nepal. India is ranked 62nd, Pakistan 52nd, Sri Lanka is 40th, the WEF says in the report published on Monday. In order to provide a more complete measure of economic development than GDP growth alone, the index has three pillars -- growth and development, inclusion and intergenerational equity, and sustainability.
Given that the project has been fast tracked under the supervision of the HPM Sheikh Hasina, about 50% of the construction work of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge has been completed. Process is underway to set up another span of the bridge would be installed by this month. Plans have been proposed to construct a tourism centre like Hong Kong city and an international airport there was well. Last year HPM Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the pilling work of the dream project which will connect the entire Southern Bangladesh with Dhaka.
While global flows of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) dropped by 16 per cent in 2017, the net inflow of FDI in Bangladesh marked a rise in the first 11 months of the past year. According to the central bank estimation, the net inflow of FDI in January-November period in the past year stood at $1.84 billion which was $1.71 billion in the same period of 2016. This figure stands out as a testament to the government's commitment to making Bangladesh as a hotbed for foreign investors.
Owing to a number of government measures, country's 87% people are now come under safe water facility. At present, 99% people in the country have come under basic sanitation. Of the facility, 61% are enjoying modern latrine facilities, 28% are joint latrine facilities and 10% people are using less- developed latrine. The rest 13% people are now collecting drinking water from other remote safe water sources.
POWER AND ENERGY
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Around 87% people are satisfied with the power supply situation in the country, according to a survey conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics or BBS. Also, almost 80% of the people have confidence in power system development plan undertaken by the government, finds the survey conducted with the support by the Bangladesh Energy and Power Research Council. According to the findings, a total of 11.2% respondents said they were very satisfied, 48.8% satisfied and 29.9% 'somewhat satisfied'. The survey was conducted between October 2016 and February 2017. There were a total of 19,600 respondents who were asked six questions about the electricity supply.
The government is planning to generate a total of 7,200 megawatts (MW) of electricity from nuclear power plants by 2041. Another team of power division is also conducting feasibility studies to implement a series of nuclear power plants in the country's southern region. The government has a plan to implement another two units having total capacity to generate 4000MW of electricity at Rooppur. A target has been set for generating at least 12 percent electricity or 7200MW from nuclear power project by 2041 when electricity generation capacity will be 60300MW.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
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The government has undertaken a project to re-excavate/renovate ponds/lakes/water bodies owned by zila parisad to ensure safe drinking water across the country. Under the project 'Water Preservation and Safe Drinking Water Supply through re- digging/renovating/ ponds/lake/water bodies of zila parisad' some 809 ponds have been re-excavating across the country. To this end, the government is re-excavating 143 ponds and excavating 200 ponds to supply safe drinking water to rural areas under the project.
The government has planned to build 'Relief Godown-cum-Disaster Information Centre' at the district level to ensure quick supply of relief goods and humanitarian assistance to disaster victims. Under the project, a total of 66 godowns will be built at district level. Dhaka and Patuakhali districts will have two godowns each and the remaining 62 districts will have one godown each. The government will bear the entire cost of the project from its own fund. The project is expected to be completed by December, 2019. Each godown will have a space of 5,426 square feet having 1500watt solar system. Each godown will have two vehicles-a jeep and a double cabin pickup.
Around three lakh jobs are expected to be created as the government has taken initiatives to set up hi-tech parks/software technology parks in all divisions and districts for the development of IT/IT Enabled Services (ITES) sector. Currently, the work on establishing Bangabandhu Hi-Tech City at Kaliakoir in Gazipur is going on in full swing. The park, which is being set up on 355 acres of land in the Public-Private Partnership model, is expected to create employment for nearly one lakh people. On the other hand, another park inaugurated by HPM Sheikh Hasina on December 10 last year is expected to generate employment for 10,000 people.
INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL COOPERATION
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United Kingdom (UK) based agencies under Cambridge Program to Assist Bangladesh in Lifestyle and Environmental Risk Reduction (CAPABLE) are taking a five-year initiative to help Bangladesh in tackling Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). According to sources, Bangladesh would ink a five-year project funded by Medical Research Council, UK to focus on determining the social, behavioral and environmental challenges for Non-Communicable Diseases (NDC) risks in Bangladesh. The project would create new research platforms and use a multidisciplinary approach to address health related Sustainable Development Goals.
Bangladesh and Indonesia will sign Joint Ministerial Statement (JMS) this month for the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) towards removing trade barriers. The initiative has been taken for mutual visit of business delegations of both the countries to increase bilateral trade, and hoped that the businessmen would improve the trade scenario identifying the potential sector. So, the PTA would help to overcome the barriers in boosting export of Bangladeshi products, especially RMG to Indonesian market.
TRADE AND INVESTMENT
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Confidence among the Japanese investors doing business in Bangladesh has improved remarkably as they think the country is a lucrative destination for their investment, according to a new survey by Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro). In particular, the 2018 diffusion indices of Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, plus Vietnam and Laos, exceeded 50 points, indicating a remarkable improvement of business confidence, the survey said. Moreover, Japanese investors see Bangladesh as a good destination for production and sales of goods for having a strong consumer base with rising income, said Bhuiyan.
IndustriALL Global Union and UNI Global Union have reached a $2.3 million settlement with a multinational apparel brand to fix life-threatening workplace hazards in Bangladesh's garment factories. The apparel maker will contribute a further $300,000 into IndustriALL and UNI's joint Supply Chain Worker Support Fund, established to support the work of the global unions to improve pay and conditions for workers in global supply chains.
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