/

AT I UR RA H MA N
FOUR DECA D ES O F BAN G L AD ESH

A N EW BEG I NNI NG

c F o U RE C C N Ov Y

Translated from Bengaliby ZiaulKarim

Bangladesh Bank

FOREWORD
l am very h onour edt o be of f er edt he oppor t unit yt o give t he 2013 Liberation War Museumlecture. Dedicated to all freedomlovingpeople, Liberation War Museum commemorates our heroic struagle for independence during 1971,which resulted in the establishment of the sovereign nationof Bangladesh. The museum is a veritable treasure-trove photographs, of documents, articles and mementos of the most glorious momentin our history. We are now into the forty-second year of our independence and making significant strides in socio-economicdevelopment. But, Bangladesh was once written off as a 'hopeless' countrywith no or zero potential for development. Our performance in most of the macroecon om ic indicat or s and in alm ostall t he socialdeveloom ent indicators in the pastfour decades has been laudedby all.Many earlier criticshavenow revised their own projections and consider Bangladesh to be a rolemodelfor the emerging economies. Bangladesh hasachieved policyfocuson modernizing this by its strategic agriculture, improving remittance and opting for readymade garmentsindustries. The service sectortoo has got adequatepolicy attention.I choseto speakon four decades of Bangladesh economy to highlightthe achievements we have made despitehuge challenges. I thought this theme would be befitting for the occasion. I alsotakethis opportunity to paytributesto all freedom seekers who sacrificed their lives for an independent Bangladesh. I am pleased to acknowledge the contribution of Md. NazimUddinfor collecting necessary information for the lecture. The lecture wasoriginally given in Bengali. Ziaul Karimdeserves special thanksfor translating the lectureinto English in a mannerthat captures the styleand spiritof the ori gi nalB engali. l. am indeedgr at ef ult o him . lam indebt edt o A. F. M . Asaduzzaman for his passionateinvolvementin every step of this publication.I am also grateful to my colleaguesat the Governor's Secretariat and Department of Communications & Publications for their support and dedication without them this publication would not have seenthe light of day.

A
Dhaka, June, 201 3
//eY{sd(({aF' ') "\ \ / ( At iur Rahm an) Governor Bangladesh Bank

INTRODUCTION
' 16 D ecember 1971.Bangr adesh em er gedon t he wor r d m ao as an independent and sovereign country-through a nine-month broodywar of i ndependence. We can never f or get t he br ood- st ainedWar of Independence of three millionlivesand sacrifices of numerous othersas w e cel ebratethis gr eat vict or y.Today,I r em em bert hose f r eedom f i ghters, w i th d eep r espect , who sacr if iced t heir lives f or our independence' I also pay homageto our great readerand father of the nationBangabandhu sheikhMujiburRahman, whosevisionary readership i nspi redus to achieveour r ong- cher ished dr eam of an independent nation-state. Liberation war was fundamentaily a peopre's war,a war of countress unknownmartyrs,a war of aspirations and dreamsto achieve freedom from poverty and hunger . Four decades have gone by since our independence in 1971. rt's not a long span of time in the historv of a nation;in fact,lessthan one generation. rt's not insignificant eitherfor a nati on' s econom ic gr owt h and nat ionar dever opm ent Bangr . adesh economy duringthis periodhastastedbothcommendable successes and painful failures'In this backdrop, I wourd rike to make an attempt to presentbefore y ou a r eview of our econom icachievem ent s against expectati ons i n m y lect ur e on 'Four decadesof Bangr adesh: a new beginning of our economy'. I have gi ven this lect ur eat a t im e signif icant f or t he nat ion.r t s si gni fi cance has b een am plif iedwhen t he spir it of liber at ionwar is reki ndl ed i n the yout h wit h t he shahbaghm ovem ent .This is an opportunemoment to reflecton our dynamiceconomyresurting from our concerted effort and to renewour commitment to buildu prorp"rouS Bangladesh.

'

FOUR DECADES OFBANGLADESH: G OU R A N EWBEGIN N INOF ECONOMY

There w ere dr eam s and expect at ionsr unning deep behind t he and social emergence of Bangladesh: dreamsof freedom from economic lt should be kept in exploitation, democraticrights and self-reliance. mind that the paramount driverfor establishing an independent country was a desperate freedom although the emergence of desirefor economic B angl ade sh was or chest r at ed under polit icaldecision and leader ship. got momentum for independence The agitation due to an extreme socioprevailing economicdiscrimination betweenthe two parts of erstwhile A sharedsenseof economicdeprivation Pakistan. amongthe Bengalis playedas a drivingforcebehindall movements duringfifties and sixties per spect iveof language m ovem ent . ami d strong socio- econom ic However,the very nature of economicdiscriminationstarted to surface to the people from sixties. The realpictureof discrimination was pointedout by a few patrioticBengali economists in their researches ahd anal yses at t hat t im e. They r evealed t hat t he lion shar e of nat ional budget used to be allocatedfor the then West Pakistan althoughthe easternpart was larger in terms of population, The revenuecollected from the then EastPakistan was hlgherthanthat of its budgetallocation. West Pakistan usedto enjoy allocation of most of the foreignaid, The exportearnings from agricultural items(mostlyjute andtea) produced in the East Pakistan was spent mostly for the development of the West P aki stan. A n el e ct ionpost er f or 1970 gener alelect iondepict eda t er r ible pictureof the economicdeprivation and dispar!t5r. The annualrevenue expenditure for West Pakistan was more than three times higherthan that of EastPakistan. The prices of essential commodities likerice,wheat and oil were doublein EastPakistan compared to those of West. West government Pakistanis occupied about907oof central and militaryjobs. government Not only the economic exploitation, the then Pakistani and junta committedaggression againstBengaliculture and heritage. The gr adually accumul at ed discr im inat ion and exploit at ion t ur ned int o a movemen tf or est ablishing dem ocr at icr ight s; which was event ually refl ectedt hr ough t he ar m ed liber at ionwar ir i 1971wit hsuccessf ul completion. Bangabandhu Sheikh MujiburRahman, the dearestleaderof pr esent ed B engal i s, t he hist or icsix- pointdem andst o pr ot est t hose

197.t,lid"r. tf,. i"rJ"rrf,ip of Bangabandhu. The principalmessaseof 7th (1g7:.);";;; given by Bangabandhu was alsogainingfreedomfrom -March at sorts of exproitations. The concernfor economicfreedom was_clearly resonatedii tlat historic speech. The liberation war brokeout from tfiu .urfv ho*, iu March1971. "f

*r, noirer..""il" i" hand power over tothe *::,:':::::j" :r^r:ni:oT. w_i nninqn1 rty, As a re,su tt,non_.ooi"r"';; ;;;;.,ff ;:::H?J:; throughout March

xp l o i t at ions 'T he ag g ri e v e dB e n g a l i s s ta rk l y re s pondedto those oppressions by west pakistanthrough theii - mandatesin the general election of '1970. The Awami te-ugr" under the leadership of Bangabandhu got absoruteruioritv ln'trrat l'lection. Despitethat, the

that the people who wer e ot her wise pessim ist icabout econom ic prospect of Bangladesh are now recognizing it as an emerging economy, The i mpress ivedevelopm entof t oday's Bangr adesh is lr equent ly capturedby reputedinternational media.Bangladesh is still a test-case to many researchers but that is in a positive sense. Bangladesh is termed as a test casefor development: to test whethereconomicdevelopment and sustainable democracycan go hand in hand with such a row per capita income,to uncoveran enigma on how such a GDp growth is achieved despitelack of governance and persistent poriticar instabirity. whetherthis kind of growthcan be sustained without adequate progr"r, madein political governance etc. some are termingBangladesh as a role modeltoo.

fl ill
Witha landmeasurinl-UU:g9O sq miles., Bangladesh began itsjourney as an independent nationendowed witfr foi,rrvesand negatives. The brighter siderefrects the stronga"rir" oitt,u peopre to gaineconomic, poriticar and curturar freedom]*t" aruur of peopre was to position Bangladesh on the ,ortd,.r1? ;. o;vJrt; free, dynamic and tiberar democratic country bv eradicating sociar discriminatitn ,na J.hiir-r.,,ng sociatjustice. The biggest negJtive ;";;; ;;;'il#.:ri,r"j*,,. economy, Lackingin funds, infrastructure and skilled manpower, Bangladesh hardlyhadanymeans ,"ltli o"""rty, we werebranded to outsideworrdas a poor.country weilnt down by naturar caramities, famineand starvation and a Aevastate? e*-norr. The ports,transport systemand industries.were.all damageJ Jrr,ng the war.The export basket vr/as rimited to juteandteaonry. i'r"r" *u, no remittance, norany mentionable foreign exchange r"r"ru".Andno memUership in lMF. Many experts werefrustrated at the post_liberation fragilesocio_ economic conditions of the country; ror"'oi*'", *".u ,rrJ rt"pt-i."r aboutthe chance of sustenanc" Forme, USsecretarv of "tir'r"-i"r"iry. Kissinger ;il".,"r[sr' d,u.bbed B""cr";";l'';r Itate fenrv o.rtn.,, dependent on foreignaid. Norwegi"n-"*norist " Farand and British economistparkinson ,Test Bangladesh as a ..termed case for Development" rn'r976, theywrotea oo'or. titrea,Bangradesh: a testcase for development' where they opined ii'g"nsrudesh cansucceed in econornic deveropment in such a condition '.rat *'"n country of the worrd candevelop too. "ny The economist duo had to their viewsto someextenton .reverse Bangladesh in 2OO7and said th;i-," ;;ri"inabte development in Bangladesh is possibre as evidentfrom her rimitedbut significant progress in the economy made during threedecaOes or more,. lt implies
Forecasts on For eign Dir ect I nvest m ent ( FDl) and Econom ic Development by GoldmanSachs, a Multinational Investment Company, are generallywell acceptedworldwide.lt once forecastedaboui the economicrise of Brazil,Russia, rndiaand china, coilectivery known as BRlcwhichwas laterproved to be correct. LaterGoldman saihs included SouthAfrica in the groupand eventuaily changed the acronymt" inril, Recently they prepared a new list of 11emerging countriescallingthem 'nexteleven'based on economic progress of thesecountries. Bangladesh is one of those listed 1r. The organization said that the majority-ofthe populationof Bangladesh is young who can changethe future of the country.I too believe that the conscious youthstrury carrythe symbor of potentials of Bangladesh. The commitmentof this tech savvyyouthsto progress, their skills and courageto face the chailenges wourd push Bangladesh forward in its journey to J p Morgan also -development. mentionedfive frontier economies includingBangladesh. Accordingto the world Bank,Bangladesh has ail the potentiars to becomea miJate incomecountryby 2o21.The USA also forecasted that the 'next eleven, countries will surpass the 27 countries of the European Union by 2030. According to the Guardian, the nationar dairyat London, Bangradlsh wirt surpassthe westerncountriesin terrns of economicgrowth by 2050. Besides, rating agencies such as Moody's and standaid & pooi's have been consistentlyawarding satisfaitory sovereign credit rating to Bangladesh. Theirprojection is arsotakenas an indicitionof stabiritliand potentials of Bangladesh.

VI
I Remittance sent by migrantworkersis yet anotherimportantdriver of a s th e mai n dri ver to Ba n g l a des h ec onom y . l t h a s b e e n c o n tri b u ti n g su sta i n ableec onom ic g ro w th d u ri n g l a s t fe w y e ars. In the preindependence to globallabor marketwas era,the scopeof our entrance w o rk e rs u s e d to go abroad ve ry l i m it ed and a f e w n u m b e r o f l n d e p e ndenchas e open e dth e d o o rsto th e g l o b a ll a b or marketfor the Ba n g l a des his T he . peop l eo f B a n g l a d e sh ha v e n o w s p readal l over the i n Ba n g l a d e smi wo rl d . Not a s ingle v illa g e h g h tb e fo u ndnow w hi chhas n o t se nt s om e of it s p e o p l eto w o rk a b ro a d .R e c e n tl ymany femal e are About 8 millionpeopleof Bangladesh workersare alsogoingabroad. of the world. More than workingat presentin more than 150 countries half a millionpeoplearetakingjobs abroadeveryyear. is the seventh largest In terms of inward remittance,Bangladesh in SouthAsia.The sizeof this countryin the world andthe secondlargest re mi ttanc eis m or e t ha n 1 0 % o f GD B m o re th a n h a l f of the export has set a earningsand about 10 times of the foreign aid. Bangladesh billion.The remittance recordin inwardremittance in2012 with U5$14.2 earnings may crossUS$14 billionin the currentfiscalas well.The foreign currencyreceivedas remittanceis being spent in the agricultureand system. of agricultural rural development which leadsto modernization Migrant workersare making as expected. Production is also increasing t o fo re i g n e x c h a n g ere s e rv e .B ecauseof the sp e ci a l c ont r ibut ions of the country reserve remittance inflow,the foreignexchange consistcnt e xce e d edUS $ 13 billi o n a t th e b e g i n n i n go f c u rrent fi scal . A t the of March 2013,the FX reservebrokethe recordwith US$ 14 beginning country l i ke b i l l i o n .Cr eat ionof s uc h a h u g e re s e rv ei n a d e v e l opi ng Ba n g l a des h is a gr eat a c h i e v e me nitn d e e d .F X re s e rveof a country e q u i va lent t o m eet ingth re e mo n th s i mp o rt p a y m e ntsi s termed as which is sufficientto make satisfactory. We haveUS$14 billionreserve payment for importsof five months.

vl l
towardsstrong It is clearlyvisiblethat the countryis firmly progressing Tk 280 ciore was only budget The revenue development. socio-economic The total of revenueand development in the FiscalYear (FY) 1973-74. to Tk 1 lac 92 thousandcrore' The average budgethave now reached oI 2oo2- 2O 11 about28 t im esdur ingt he decade GD Pincr eased nomi nal The comoared to the first decade (972-1981) after independence' In contrastto 37o during1973-80. annualGDPgrowthwas 3.87o average GD P grow th of t he wor ld at t his m om ent ,t he count r y cont inuest o annualgrowth of GDP GDPgrowth.The average more than 60/o achieve duringlast threeyears.ln the currentFY too, the GDPgrowth was5.40/o Also rate i.e.6.40/o. to be more than last threeyearsaverage is expected and political conditions the on dependent is largely this achievement growth are economic of results Desired economy. stabilityof the world impactsin povertyreduction. havingpositive lt was more than 70%o significantly. Rateof povertyhas decreased 31. 5%in 2010 and is only t o down ago which has com e four decade s come down to 27o/o' already at present,I think this rate has below29o/o G oals of t he M illenniumDevelopm ent One of the m ain com ponent s By by 20'15' poverty 25o/o to (MDGs) was to bring down the level of be particular can target the trend,it can be easilysaidthat this observing stable is either The indexof inequality evenbeforethe deadline. achieved or downward.As a result, we were able tc-,keep the pace of social hasalso beensuccessful level.Bangladesh at a satisfactory development in keepingthe rate of populationgrowth under control for initiatives The rate of population and non-government. taken by both government in growth has now been broughtdown to 1'5%.The birth rate of 6.30lo (2011). rate at a present is such This at 1975has come down to 2.3o/o stablefor long.The per capita sizeof a countryremains whichpopulation which has now reached beforeindependence incomewas about US$100 ago, to US$850.PercapitaGDP now standsat TUS$772. Iwo decades per has risen which day incomeof a laborwas belowTk 100 the average can evensavea sum after meeting to Tk 4OOper day now,The laborers thei r dai l y needs.Tlr ey can buy var iousindust r ialpr oduct swit h t he In that way a strongdemandbasehas beencreatedinsidethe savings. we havebeenableto face 'The GreatRecession' Forthis reason country. in a proficientway comparedto many other countries'Many of the in sucha success sucheconomic in the world couldnot achieve countries shortspanof time.

vill
We havewitnessed lots of successes in our healthand education sectors too' According to the MDG report2011, Bangladesh has achieved either full or partialsuccess in manygoalsincluding - eradication of hunger and extremepoverty, primaryeducation ensuring for all, reduction of infanr mo rta l i t y r at e, em pow e ri n gw o m e n a n d p re v e n ti onof H IV l A l D S . B a n g l ades h has alr ead y a c h i e v e da U N A w a rd i n recogni ti onof unprecedented success in reducing infantmortalityrate.The progress in reducing infantand maternal mortalityrate in Bangladesh is comparable to th e spec t ac ular s uc c e s s o f J a p a n i n th i s fi e l d i n late ni neteenth century.ln 1971infant mortality rate was 14.60/o which came down to 3.8% in 2O11. The rateof maternal mortalitycamedownto 2.jgo/o in 2O11. The averagelife expectancy has increased by 19 years reaching to 69 yearsin the span of only four decades. This average life expectancy is four yearshigherthan that of India,althoughIndianaverage per capita incomei1 two times higherthan that of Bangladesh. Numberof people suffering from malnutrition has come down to half in last four decades. The reasonbehindthis success in Bangladesh is mass awareness. lt's is the resultof jo,inteffortsmadeby bothgovernment and non-government organizations, Thosewho usedto livewith superstitions, weredevoidof modernization are now allowing their kids to be vaccinated, feedingoral salinesolutionand takingconsultancy service from specialized doctors. The literacy rate has increased by two timesduringthe lastfour decades and stoodat560/o in 2011. Th e s uc c es s of B an g l a d e s h i n b ri n g i n gg e n d e r p ari ty i n pri mary ed u ca ti o nenr ollm entha s b e e n p h e n o me n a lT . h e ra tio of mal e and femalestudents at primarylevelwas 55:45in nineties which improved to 53:47 at present with the blessingof free educationfor females at se co n d ar ylev el. ln las t th i rty y e a rs , Ba n g l a d e s h h a s made 65% advancement in socialdevelopment index.Bangladesh was ranked 146th amo n g187c ount r ies at U N D PH u ma n .D e v e l o p m eIn n tdex(H D l ) report r e l e a se din 2012. T hes e p o s i ti v em a n i fe s ta ti o n s o f soci o-economi c in d i ca tor spr ov e t he r ad i c a li m p ro v e me n itn l i v i n g s ta ndardof.poor people of the country.

IX
Nobel of Bangladesh, success While commenting on the unprecedented Professor Amartya Sen said that India is laureateBangaliEconomist in t he index of hum an r esour ces ranked l ow er t han Bangladesh development. Severaltimes he pointed that it's a great successof manythings to accomplish Bangladesh that the countrymadeit possible beinga countryof low per capitaincome. in a short spanof time despite wrotethat Bangladesh is no longera bottomless The Wall StreetJournal The recently basket; ratherit is a role modelfor many other countries. published and Outlook2013', Conditions reporttitled 'World Ecohomic w ri tten by the Unit ed Nat ions( UN) point edout t hat t he econom ic was favorable amid slow growth in the South in Bangladesh conditions growthof consumption flow of remittance, Asia last year. The increased playedan instrumental role in expenditure and privatesectorinvestment image- commented iir" UN. building this favorable do havesome ex factor. The awardsand recognitions of Bangladesh how a low incomecountrywith limitedresources This sagais inspiring: but fighting spirit can change the course.The economy has been Dependency on agriculturehas undergoing a massivetransformation. and industrial of the manufacturing been reducedand the importance The countrywhich started its journeywith a low sectorsis mounting. multifaceted industrialbase four decadesago has been experiencing industrial development. The RMG sectorhas got a strongbaseby now. powerand energy,pharmaceuticals Lightengineering, agro processing, and chemical,leatherand shoes,ceramic,cement,ship breakingand information technology sectors have emerged as new potential are now rich The jute sectoris beingrevived. Exportbaskets industries. w i th di verse p r oduct s.The expor t wit nessesdiver sit y not only in productsbut also in destinations of acrossthe globe.The expansion (Fls) as well as insurance activitiesby banksand financialinstitutions and investment companies helpedbringingthe diversityin exports,In last four decades, Bangladesh has developed a soundeconomic basein the assistance with the flourishedbankingsector which strengthened on access of individuals economyin one hand and ensuredinstitutional the other. ln 1972,the country had only six state-ownedbanks.Number of banks at present is 47 owned by the governmentand the private including bankswill entrepreneurs foreignones.Nine more commercial soon.The country'sbankingnetwork is composedof start operations Numberof ruralbranches morethan 8,300 branches across the country. is morethan thoseof the urbanones.The privatesectorbankshavealso than beenforcedto open more than or equalnumberof rural branches

revivalhas beenvisiblein urbanones.Forthat reason, an unprecedented mobilebanking system. the ru16l economy aidedby the newlyintroduced This instantmoneytransfer hasbeenproviding a new ray of arrangement h o p e to t he unbank e dp o p u l a ti o no f th e c o u n try ,Some 55 mi l l i on accounts with depositors and about10 millionborrowers are maintaining these branches. The total advanceand deposithave risen to Tk 4,319 billionandTk 5,395billionrespectively.

X
Si n ce n inet ies ,B angl a d e s h h a s b e e n e mb ra c i n ga ful l -fl edged' free The market economy', the very essence of which is open competition. l f th e fi ttest' .B uyers will si mp l er ule of ' openc o mp e ti ti o ni's ' s u rv i v ao p re fe r c onv enientpr ic e o n l y . Ba n g l a d e s h h a s b e e n fami l i ar as the shrimps,leathergoods and from cottage exporterof RMG, manpower, products Initially the industries to shipsas well due to this free economy, importtariffin Bangladesh which usedto hamperimports. was excessive The duty structurewas liberalized in the nineties. The averageimport in 1993-94and 1Oolo at duty in 1991was 57olo which came down to 360/o preserlt decrease. aftergradual
a

A major reasonfor the optimismsurrounding is its Bangladesh hugepopulation with potentials. The main advantage hereis the growingsectionof working population. Working populationis growing at a double rate (2.80/o) than the Srowth rate of overall (1.5%). population A largersectionof overallpopulation falls in the age range of 15 to 35 at present. In the next two to three decades the sizeof the workingpopulation i.e.the youngsection of population will surpass the sizeof old ones.No wonders, this youngsectionof population are the most potentialresources of a country who can contributemore to changethe fate of the nation.This is a lifetime opportunitywhich comes only once. China and India have utilized this opportunity.The working population in Chinahas engaged themselves more in production sectorwhile in India it was the lnformationTechnology Sector. This is called 'demographic dividend', Accordingto the World Bank,the country has to create 1.5 million jobs every year to enjoy this dividend.The manpowerhas to be more skilledto availthis opportunity. The youngand workingpopulation of the countryare earning hugeamountof foreigncurrency by working abroad. Our youthsnow a day are not chasing afterjobs only but are trying to be entrepreneurs. We can see lot of initiatives around,lot of new activitiesand efforts undertaken by them. E veryoneis t r ying t o im pr ove hislher condit ion by doing something, be it smallor large. Theycontinue to set examples by projects doingself-employment in diverse sector.s. Rural eConomyhas been playing a crucial role in achieving growthin recentyears. sustainable economic A changehasbeen set in the villages. At presentin the rural areas,no worker is available at a wagelessthan Tk 4OOevenafter an offer of three gratuitousmealsa day. Previously, workerscould have bought two to two and half kg of rice with their daily earnings but now they can buy 9-10 kg of rice with the same,The main reasonof the rise of wage is the hugeexpansion of economic activities in rural areas.A major sectionof the rural people has engaged themselvesin the activities other than the agriculture.The demand for the agriculturallabors has risen as many small entrepreneurs are in the making. Vegetable farming,poultryand dairy farms are being established in the rural areas.Many of them are livingon fisheries, Flowers are cultivated commercially and home decoration materialsare being producedtoo. Small and medium industries, trade and commercdand many other initiatives have been spread.Repairand maintenance activities for r ickshaw- van, agr icult ur al inst r um ent s and elect r onic materialsare also taking place massively. Peopleare engaging themselves with this expansion of ruraleconomy. As a result, the

A huge amount of surplusfund has been generatedin Bangladesh economy due to opening up markets. Goodnumberof new entrepreneurs has also emergedto utilizethis surplus. Smalland Medium Enterprises (SMEs) hav e ex pand e dtre me n d o u s l yT . h e e c o n o m i cacti vi ti esal so The peopleof the countryare neverlate in utilizinga single expanded. That is how the economic opportunity. of one is inspiring others. Success are flow of employmenthas moved acrossthe country.Entrepreneurs gainingsuccesses dairy by raisingpoultry,doing fisheries, establishing farms and running variousagriculturalprojects.The successstory of Bangladeshin last four decades is the story of massive rise of of the the youngones.The overalldevelopment entrepreneurs especially country may get further momentum if these young and diligent entrepreneurs are provided with adequate assistance. Lot more 'Bangladesh potentials will cometrue.In true sense, is on the move'.As a yearsold heritage. of nation,we havethousand The beautyand richness Bhora the countryis depictedwell in the song "Dhon O DhanyePushpe Amader Ei Bashundhara" Roy.This countryis not written by Dijendralal o n l y b les s ed wit h s p e c ta c u l a rn a tu ra l b e a u ty , s h e has unl i mi ted potentials The potentialsectorsare spreadall despitemany limitations. o ve r the c ount r y t h a t re q u i re s o n l y n u rtu ri n g and unfal teri ng advancement.

powerof hasgoneup' The purchasing rate of ruralemployment laborers, day and labors field The poor increased. has also rural their kids for earningextraincomewithout who usedto engage their childrento them to school,are currentlysending sending The l i vi ng i s b e i n g c o n s tru c ted. Rur alinf r a s tru c tu re schools . sta ndar d of r ur a l p e o p l e i s e n h a n c i n g th ro u gh modern The farmersof rurai areasare now usingmobile management. usinglCT.lf the pace of daily activities phonesand completing urban peoplewill be continues, economy of rural advancement in future. to moveand livein the villages encouraged

About 50% of the We have fertile land and huge population. activities' "population in agricultural of the country is engaged in 2011{2 fiscal' to GDP was 19o/o of agriculture Contribution of we couldutilizea fractionof the true potentials Nonetheless, of sector.lf we could explorethe full potentials the agriculture very we could planning restructuring, and by proper agrigulture welf export food in the global market besidesensuringfood as to transformBangladesh securityat home-lt is evenpossible sectors nation.Potential developed an agro based industrially poultry and dairy farming,farming like fruit-juiceproduction, edibleoil, goat,fisheries and driedfish production, BlackBengal to the of palm,pearlfarming- all thesecan contribute cultivation be brought should sector The agriculture economysignificantly. productivity' With this goal in to increase under mechanization for haveto be ensured and incentives facilities mind, adequate Universityand other Agricultural of Bangladesh the scientists has to The scaleof agro basedindustries institutions, research of window a special Bankhasopened Bangladesh be broadened. must We too' processing industries 'refinancing for agro scheme' cont inue t o c r ea te d i ffe re n t o p p o rtu n i ti e s fo r the new entrepreneurs. oniy RMGcomesin but aboutindustry, we discuss Whenever alreadyshowntheir have which there are many other industries p o t ent ialsW . e ha v e to c o n s i d e rth o s e .T h e p h armaceuti cal s sectorhas emergedas a potentialsectorin the globalmarket' timesduringthe by'15 from this sectorincreased Exportearnings made drugsare exportedto a total of Bangladeshi last decade. disease the drugsfor complex USA.Even including 70 countries is also The country in the country. suchaq cancerare produced to able will be Bangladesh technologies. in medical adv6ncing go to people's tendency if dollar of millions of save hundreds a b r oad f or m edi c a l tre a tm e n t c a n b e c o n ta i ned'The shi p b u ilding indus t r y h a s a l re a d y o p e n e d a n e w hori zon for T he c o u n try i s a b l y mo v i n g fo rw ard w i th thi s Ba nglades h. a strongfootholdin the global to secure and is expected industry

made mid size and large ships market very soon. Bangladeshi in Europeand USA in the were exportedto differentcountries Those oceangoing ships are sailingfrom ports to meantime. The countrymay ports bearing the tag of 'Made in Bangladesh" leatherindustry The alone. stand strongby usingthis industry can be damage environmental potentials if the too has huge lots of here.Earning High qualityleatheris abundant controlled. the leatherand leathergoods is foreigncurrencyby exporting of textile, possible. We haveto moveforwardby usingpotentials for agriculture machineries cement,light engineering, ceramic, ICT and small industry,furniture,plastic goods, electronics, packaging, frozenfoods, bicycle,publications, basedproducts, andjute goods' goodsandspices, vegetables agricultural t o G DP has now been The indust r ialsect or cont r ibut ion post era.This independence the 9olo in only from to 31% moved sectorleadsus to the dreamof beinga of industrial expansion duringFY middleincomecountryby 2021.Totalexportearnings were of US$ wereUS$318 billionand import payments 1973-74 stood Duringthe lastfiscalyearthe exportearnings 7.67billion. On at US$24.3billionwhichis 30 timeshigherthanthat of 1973. billion payments of US$35.4 were the other hand,the import during last fiscal which was also 15 times higherthan that of This economy, of Bangladesh Thisis a greattransformation 1973. huge volume of export-importcan serve as solid evidencein Economy. of Bangladesh capabilities reflecting

is also industryin Bangladesh of software The paceof expansion is moving forward in ICT with a Bangladesh very impressive. in I CT expenses renew edpace. Due t o t he r ise of business as one of is considered Bangladesh countries, serviceproviding The for ICT services. the most potentialalternatedestinations sector in this success huge achieving youngentrepreneurs are on ICT knowledge of youngpeopleareacquiring too. Thousands as themselves to prepare institutions from differenteducational or out sour cing They ar e expanding ski l l edhum an r esour ces. business processingindustry. The country has also made Bangladesh activities. in freelancing advancement tremendous supportto each of this regulatory necessary Bankis providing Fund ( EEF) has been sector, Equit y and Ent r epr eneur ship of ICTindustries' for the expansion customized into an exportorientedcountry to turn Bangladesh It is possible Exportsectors import dependency, from the current status of four decades during massive transformation a haveundergone of export 70olo occupy used to Jute sector independence. after The demandfor jute had reduceddramatically basketin '1972.

aftlr the introduction In the of artificialfiber in the seventies, eighties, RMG industrystartedto expandin the labor intensive Bangladesh which is contributing78o/o ol export earningsat p res ent . T he numb e r o f n o n -tra d i ti o n a il te m s al ong w i th Alongwith traditional items has increased in the exportbasket. the traditional items like RMG,tea, tobacco, leather, drugs and ships, non-traditionalitems like ceramic, cement, furniture, plastic goods, bicycle, ICTproducts, fish,shrimp, driedfish,crab, guava, cap, nakshi kantha (embroidered flower, vegetables, quilt), potteries, bamboo and cane made goods and other handicrafts are beingexported to manycountries. The industrialsector is expanding very fast in this countryof huge population, While at the same time, developed countries for their industries, are facinglaborshortage Bangladesh enjoys surplus manpower, Besides, raw materials, energyresources and production friendlynaturalenvironment here.We are prevailing needto set up moresmall,mediumand largeindustries. We also need investmentfor setting up those industries.Renowned globalcompanies are interested to do business in Bangladesh; many of them are already doing businesshere. We should understand that without any prospects of makingrisk adjusted return;they were not hereto do business. But an infrastructure for4sustainable development can't only be built upon by foreign (FDl). Forthat reason, directinvestments we haveto encourage and attract localentrepreneurs/investors. Localpeoplewill feel free in wor.king and doing business with local companies. We potentials. haveto moveforwardby usingtheseinvestment We might go for largescaleindustries underjoint venture, The PPP Cellshouldbe moreactiveand innovative in this connection. BB hasalready extended necessary in this regard cooperation too.

are enormous. The potentialsof tourismindustry in Bangladesh The naturally beautiful,historical,religiouslysignificantand culturally important places and modern architectureshave for tourism.We can createopportunityby unlimitedpotentials of cable modern, luxurious rivercruise.lntroduction introducing The carsat Rangamati may openfurtherroadsto opportunities. in the sizeof middleclassand highermiddleclassis increasing and foreign investorsare country.Non-resident Bangladeshis also coming to Bangladeshfor investment. We have to everyone's concentrate in expanding the industryby considering demand i n m ind. Initiatives beyondgovernmenti.e. taken by non-government (NGOs)havelots of contributions in Bangladesh. organizations 'NGOsplayedsignificant fall of consumption level roleto prevent of the rural poor.The country is brandedas the pioneerof micro micro credit is playinga credit in the world.The well controlled basedpovertyreduction very significant role in self employment acrossthe globe. NGOs are contributingheavily along with population government in education control, and healthservice, management disaster etc.

We may not haveabundant natural resources but what we have is not insignificant either.The land, water and peopleare the great resourceso{ this country. Besides, a great volume of energyand mineralresources like oil, gas and coal remained unexplored underthe soil. The properexploration and usesof these natural resources can help faster developmentof the policy initiatives country.We haveto undertake to adopt latest technology in gas exploration. We can meetthe energydemand of next 50 years by exploring coa.ls. We have to ensureusing appropriate technology for exploration as the countryis densely populatedwith prudentpolicy and decisionwith due care for public safety and protectionof environment. The Bay of the Bengal is anotherareaof potentiality, Modernsea ports can be built here.lt is abundant with fish ahd rich with other minerals i n c luding oil andga s ,
t

strategyand Duringthe last few decades, the inclusive development policyand institutional massive reformshelpedbring positiveresultsin strategy socioeconomic spheres. Mid-termand longterm development primary for achieving equitybasedgrowth playeddue rolesin ensuring for health care, education, trainingand regularbudgetaryallocations These elderlyand widow allowances under socialsafetynet programs. in bringing continuousreform to revenuegeneration, also played r-oles production facilitating internal of necessary cropstoensurefood security and strengthen ing r ur al econom y,under t akingf inancial inclusion programsby BB,proviflingcost effectiveinnovativebankingservicesto the peopleof remoteareasof the countryin joint effortsby banks, micro credi t agenci esand m obile phone com paniesusing m oder n lCT. guideline very soon Bangladesh Bankis goingto introduce agentbanking to fosterthis process.

XI
The achievements of Bangladesh economyduringlast four decades can The achievements of Bangladesh economy duringlast four decades can no way be undermined. We may indulge into a threadbare reviewon the scaleof development that shouldhavebeenachieved duringthe period, but there will alwaysbe some gapsbetweenexpectations and realities. Many of our dreamshavebeenmet althoughsomewere not duringthe lastfour decades. Our economic strbngthhas already beenproven; what we needto do is to protectthosethroughfair practice in politics. a Bangladeshhad to face many challenges during last four decades and is still facingthe same.The viciouscycleof poverty is one of those.Despiteachieving significant success in poverty people about 40 million country of the are still poor ;eduction, im ong whi c h 2 5 mi l l i o n a re h a rd c o re . The cl i mate change effectsincreased naturalcalamities and environmental hazards. Its negativeimpacts are evidentin the coastaland river bed areas,Poverty set in anew in the coastalareasdue to negative impactsof climatechange. Many peopleare beingevictedfrom theseareasdue to failureto copewith the adversities. Although Bangladesh has exhibitedits uniquecapacityin facing natural c alam it ies b u t i t' s q u i te i n s i g n iifc a n t compared to the widespread impactsof climate change.So, we have to equip ourselves to facethe threatsof climatechange. Bangladesh Bank and the Government of Bangladesh havetakensome innovative greenbanking initiatives including to facethe challenges. But we haveto take preparation for facingthe worst. potentials Utilizing unlimited of the countryis another challenge. Actuallywe couldrealize onlya fractionof potentials of our huge population dueto lackof properdirection. However, it's too early to be conclusive. The sizeof our working'youths is the keyto the social, economic and technological development of Bangladesh. We haveto utilizethem to build the nation.To transformthese youths into real assets,they have to be made efficient,They need trainingfor skill enhancement and diversified investment includingcreationof scopefor entrepreneurial initiatives, We need massiveexpansion of labor intensivesmall and cottage fndustries to createemployments for the youths. We haveto makelargeinvestment in energy sectorin this ageof t ec hnology. T h e p h y s i c a li n fra s tru c tu re i ncl udi ngpow er and energy is still very much inadequate here.We havemanynatural resources whichcan be utilizedin producing low cost power.lt's government heartening to sharethat the present hasprepared a

master plan to produce 39,000 MW power by 2030. The power.A contract government is in the right track to generate for installation of a nuclear has already beensignedwith Russia power plant which is expected to generate 5,000 MW power. we Installation of a coal basedpowerplant is goingon. Besides of producingpower from solar have to supportthe initiatives power,biogasand wastages. The scale of creativeinitiatives of Bangladesh Bankand the Government taken by Bangladesh production of renewable energyshouldbe extended supporting further.

improvement of our roads, bridges, We areyet to makesufficient portsand railways. Dhaka, and its the capitalcity of Bangladesh, adjacentareas are crippled with heavy traffic jam. We have scopeto improvein these sectorsand the presentgovernment is has concentrated Construction of manyflyovers on this issue. in final stage;yet we haveto do lot more on this. We needto improveour rail and river transportation system to facilitate at low cost.Projects transportation of high speedbus and train servicesare also to be undertaken.tofacilitate faster travel between importantcities. Bangladesh is the eighthlargest countryin the world in terms of population but 94th in terms of size.The cultivablelands are getting reduced day by day under the pressurefrom over populat ion. lf t he sit uat ioncont inues, t his m ight call f or a disaster for us. We haveto build plannedhabitatsevenin rural areas.Failure to generatemore employmentopportunities for ruralpeoplewill exerta hugepressure on the cities.We haveto concentrate on greenand wellgoverned urbanmanagement. Unemployment is still a serious problem. Alternative employment shouldbe created to reduceunemployment. One of the m ain sour cesf or livelihoodf or t he people of agr ar ian Bangladesh Thesetwo sectors are can be livestock andfisheries. developing very fast.A largejob marketneedsto be developed to reduce unemployment which in turn requiresinvestment, jobs abroadshould Government ongoinginitiatives for creating cont inue.We should cont inuet o encour age r elat ed pr ivat e goodgovernance. sectors to do the sameensuring lnvestmentin. manufacturing industriesneedsto be increased for job creation. We needto maintain a welcoming environment to attractFDl.Forthis reason, special industrial zonesneedto be policy set up urgently. The centralbank is providingnecessary reformsto facilitateincrease of foreign. investment, We want moredomestic investment too so that moneyremains withinthe country. We urgethe investors to reportto Bangladesh Bankand

l'
l/

,f

ott'ur.,"grlrtory authorities if they have any problemor have pr ef er ablem od e o f c o o p e ra ti o nre q u i re d .Becausew e are committedto increase domesticinvestment. We also have to cr eat e div er s eo p p o rtu n i ti e s fo r N o n -R e s i d ent B angl adeshi s (NRB ) t o inv es a t t h o me .

xil
A s the barri er s of dever opm ent and pr ogr essof Bangr adesh ar e identif ied,removal of thoseshouldnot be a toughjob either. f believe that Bangladesh will be able to stand high with economicpotentials in the w orl d i n near f ut ur e by over com ing t hese obst acr es. Bangr adesh economyhas achieved a lot of successes by overcoming many hurdles since independence. The economyof the countryhas shown adequate resilience in facingongoing globalrecession and keeping the growthrate moving. In terms of GDp growth rate, Bangladesh has securedtop positionin south Asia in 2012-13 fiscal.However, we securethe secono position after Indiain termsof average growthrate in lastfive years. our maintargetfor the growthis to eradicate poverty. That'swhy,we haveto continue the paceof this incrusive deveropment.trends. tn oider to enter into the secondstage of growth we need to increase our productivity throughtechnologicar deveropment and by deveroping r"ik"t for the SME sectors.We have to increase our foreign remittanceby sending more ski l l ed l abor abr oad. We have t o incr easepr oduct ivit y f or readymade garments by increasing wages for the labors. Bangladesh Bankhas undertaken a programto bring disadvantaged peopleof the societyunderfinanciar services net to direct the country towardsan environment friendly, incrusive and sustainabre deveropmeni. It formulated a well thoughtout poricy on corporatesocialResponsibirity (CSR) and is implementing thoseat financiar sectors graduaily. Financial i ncl usi on i s a bi g par t of t hese st r at egicplanning. We have alr eady i ntroduced refi nance schem ef or agr icur t ur e. sM E and envir onm eni friendly projectswith our own fund to increase adequateand visible credit flow to these sectors.We have introducedbank accounts for farmersand poor peopleof the societyand also introduced modern, innovative and technology basedbankingservicesrike mobirebanking etc. We haveto ensureproper policy frameworkfor local and foreigi pri vate sector e nt r epr eneur sin t he ar eas of hum an , "r or . " development,youth skill development,faster poverty r.udu;iio;, increased govt.revenue expenditure for the deveropment r"* ir."r. group, i ncreased "i ent govt . R & D expendit ur e in envir onm f r iendly agriculture, powerand energy sectors. Keeping in mind the need for society,s contribution to make good market inefficiency, Bangradesh Bank is invitingFrsto undertake Lrge scale CSRprogramsto distributeeducationscholarship, developti'e healthand renewable energysectorand to supportthe deveropment of heritage, art and culture.Bankshaveprovided hrg" r."rponre. The CSR financing by the financiar sectorshas increased by more than 7 times in last four years.rf these initiatives continueBangradesh wiil be abreto standhighas an 'inclusive sustainabre deveropment mode| in the worrd.

lt is a pretty big challenge to provideassistance to the new entrepreneurs in buildingtomorrowsBangladesh. We have to s t and by t heir s i d e w i th fi n a n c e , te c h n o l o g y a nd i deas.The government and Bangladesh Bankare upholding their effortsto enhance access to financefor the peoplelike marginal farmers, sharecroppers, new entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs, who did not get bank loans earlier.Arrangements have also been made to providerequiredfinanceto those who have proven them s elv esas e s ta b l i s h e de n tre p re n e u rs i n the f i el ds of readymade garments, textile,pharmaceuticals, leather, ceramic, cement,ship buildingsectors. The government and Bangladesh Bank are committedto removeany barrierthat stands in the way.

We couldnot utilizethe potentials of ICTsectorproperly due to l ac k of E nglis ha n d C o m p u te rk n o w l e d g eSo . , nati onall evel initiatives and privatesector investments are neededto make gur new generation expert in Englishlanguage and computer knowledge. We haveto put more focus in expanding ICT in the fieldof educ at io n . We need to increasesub-regional cooperation especially the ec onom ic net wo rk w i th S o u thA s i a ,A SE AN a n d GMScountri es. Regional Economic Alliancemay also be formed, if necessary. Our trade volumewith neighboring India is increasing and the peopleshouldalwaysbe vigilantso that this trend concerned cont inues . We have to undertake institutionalreforms to frame right policies and implement thosein the prioritysectors. It cannot be denied that we lack politicalstabilityand good governance; we haveadministrative weakness and weakness in p r oper im plem e n ta ti o n o f th e p ro j e c ts . C orrupti on i s widespread. lf we cannotremovecorruption we cannotsustain o ur dev elopm e na t chieved s o fa r. S o c i e tyi s y et to have the ambience of true peace. Still,there exist patchesof indiscipline in the society. Our growth could have been much higherif we could r educ e co rru p ti o n a n d p o l i ti c a l i n s ta bi l i ty.S o w e desperately need politicalstabilityand effective governance to continue the progress andto facefuturechallenges successfully. ,

o a

xill
peaceful and a prosperous, meansfor building We haveenoughrelevant by the positivereportspublished Beingencouraged livableBangladesh. putting we haveto continue mediaand agencies, by the world renowned and hunger for a strongeffortsto moveour countryfurther.We cherish and corruption no will be therej povertyfree enlightened countrywhere in countri es a l l th e a m o n g l o w e s t th e s h o u l d b e inequalit y c hao s. l n com e to a greatextent villageand city will be reduced the world,Gapbetween We want to be a model for other interconnectivity. with heightened We alwaysdream and other sectors. healthcare countriesin education, on the be based will success prosperous whose country and of a beautiful peace;need unite d e ffo r t s of t he who l e n a ti o n .We n e e d s e a m l e s s of the to explorethe full potentials e/ficientand patriotcitizens honest, with countryto sail throughsuccessfully country.We want our beloved to stand tal l . e w a n t o u r b e l o v e dm o th e rl a n d it s h u g e pot ent ials W Let us join our hands of the 21stcentury. pacewith the progress keeping put smile on the poverty help and eradicate togetherand be unitedto past to move failures our forgetting a vow people. Let us take of our faces Let us utilize320 million together. forwardand to work for the homeland . ssoi lof our o f th e c o u n tryThi people fo r th e w e l fa re hand s o f 1 50m illion Our val i ant wit h th e b l o o d so f 3 mi l l i o nma rty r s. nati o ni s h o ly s t r ained of the i n d e p e ndence fo r th e th e i r l i v e s f r e e d o m fi ght er s s ac r if ic e d counrry. We haveto keep in mind that the countryhas been freed but the For freedomin true sense. people of the countryareyet to gainecoiromic revol uti on. a n e c o n o mi c n e e d s c o u n try th e em anc ipat i o n t he e co n o m ic rol ei n thi s p l a yi n s tru m e ntal should of t he c o u n try T heyo u n gpepulat ion o f ful fi l l i ngour mo ve me nt T . he y oung f ig h te rsw i l l b e th e h a rb i n g e r dre a ms;our belov edm o th e r l a n d w i l l b e th e c e n te r o f peace and of the youths.They have alreadyproved prosperityby the dedication Go . o d w i s h e sfor al l thei r t o t ak e u p th e c h a l l e n g e s t hei r ca p abilit ies p a tri o ti s m a m o n g u s. Let' sri se i n re k i n d l e d at te mp ts.Let ' shav e our In to ta l i ty , th i s emergi ng th o u g h ts . a n d wr it ings wo rd s, d e eds , s a n g l a d e sw hh e reb a s i cri ghtsw i l l be Ba n g l a d eswill h be a pr os p e ro u B fo r a l l i s the si gnof real ri g h ts g e basic ex p a n d i n day g by day .Uph o l d i n th 'Onesignof a nationwhich Tagore: As put by Rabindranath developn{ent. and of all sections is that the narrowness is on the way of development Most of the peopleof such a starts erodinggradually' every individual That' s s s p ro u dh u ma nbei ng. t o c la i mth e m s e l v ea nati o na re pr iv ileged therethinkshow all of them can havea decentliving'get why everyone so b e r e d uc at ion,enjoy g o o d fo o d s , w e a r g o o d c l othes, protect and and enjoy senseof adequaterelaxation from diseases themselves KhaPage12th (Batayan Collection, Writings Rabindra Patro, .' individualism 581)

by to millionsof martyrsof 1971' by payinghomage Finally, I conclude 'Sonar and by congr at ulat ing Bangla', of a promi si ng dr eam s to ful fi llt heir of the countrywho will be buildinga happy' futurearchitects in advance prosperous Bangladesh. and beautiful