Govt to include Smart Bangladesh in mid-term dev plan: Official Document

In a new move the Planning Commission seeks to include the goal of building Smart Bangladesh in the government's Medium Term Development Plan.

At present, initiatives have been taken to formulate the Ninth Five Year Plan (2026-2030) by the General Economic Department (GED) of the Commission, according to an official document procured by UNB this week.

It said that the possible development philosophies in the Ninth Five Year Plan will be- Implementation of 'Vision 2041' and construction of 'Smart Bangladesh, successfully addressing the challenges of transition from least developed countries (LDCs), achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Upper Medium income country status by 2031.

The others will be - accelerate growth, strengthen macroeconomic stability, Inflation control, employment generation and poverty alleviation, sustainable use of natural resources and natural disasters and coping with the impact of climate change, ensuring regional balanced development and planned urbanisation, and evelopment of important institutions and establishment of rule of law.

In the plan, efforts will be made to implement the promises given in the election manifesto 2024 of Bangladesh Awami League besides incorporating the concept and strategy of building Smart Bangladesh in setting overall and sector-wise development targets, strategies and activities.

These are- keeping prices affordable; ensuring vocational education and employment; Building smart Bangladesh based on modern technology; Increasing efficiency and capacity in the financial sector including banking; making health care affordable for low-income people; Inclusion of all in the universal pension system; integrated farming systems, mechanisation and with a view to profitable agriculture increased investment in processing; and industries and services by leveraging visible infrastructure and increasing investment expanding the sector.

The document mentioned that current Awami League government has adopted a significant number of development plans in the medium and long term as part of the measures taken with the aim of economic development in the last 15 years (2009-2024). 

As a result of the adoption and implementation of all these plans, Bangladesh has now been recognised as a role model for development in the world.

The current Awami League government formulated the "First Perspective Plan of Bangladesh (2010-2021)" as a long-term plan to achieve the specific goals of economic and social development of Bangladesh with the aim of "Vision 2021" to continue the overall development and progress of the country, one of the goals of which was To promote Bangladesh to an information technology dependent middle income country by 2021. 

The government has adopted and successfully implemented the 6th Five Year Plan (2011-2015) and 7th Five Year Plan (2016-2020) as medium term plans to realise the development vision of "Bangladesh First Vision Plan (2010-2021)". 

As a result, on July 1, 2015, Bangladesh was upgraded from a low-income country to a lower-middle-income country. An average growth of 7.13% was achieved during the 7th Five Year Plan period.

The document said that present government formulated an integrated, centenary master plan, "Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100", taking into consideration agriculture, fisheries, industry, forestry, public health, environment and environment etc., to address the impacts of climate change, food security, better water resource management and sustainable development.

The formulation and approval of this master plan in the continuous development journey will be marked as a milestone in the history of development planning of the country. 

The implementation of "Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100" has already started. Projects are being taken up and implemented by various ministries/departments in respective fields. 

The vision of the "Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100" is: 'Building a safe, climate resilient and prosperous delta'. 

The current government has adopted "Realisation of Vision 2041: Vision Plan of Bangladesh 2021-2041" to make Vision 2041 a reality with the aim of building Golden Bangla, the dream of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. 

The plan is based on two main objectives, which are: (a) Bangladesh will be a developed country by 2041, with a per capita income of more than 12,500 US dollars at current prices and fully compatible with the digital world; and (b) Bangladesh will be a golden Bengal, where poverty will be a thing of the distant past.

The document stated that the "Vision 2041 or Vision Plan (2021-2041)" will be implemented through a series of four five-year plans, the first of which "8th Five-Year Plan (July 2020-June 2025)" is currently under implementation.

In preparing this plan, along with the main goals of Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), fourth industrial revolution, challenges of transition from underdeveloped countries to developing countries have been taken into consideration. 

In addition, the 8th Five Year Plan has also recommended some effective strategies to address the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The motto of this plan, formulated with the aim of sustainable development, is "not leaving anyone behind, but development with everyone".

The key themes emphasized in the 8th Five Year Plan are accelerated prosperity and maximum employment generation, inclusive growth, increased productivity and poverty reduction. 

In this plan, promotion of labour-intensive, export-oriented manufacturing-based growth, diversification of agriculture, dynamism of cottage, small and medium industries, strengthening of modern service sector, increasing export of non-sector services, acceleration of technology-based enterprises and strengthening of foreign employment are particularly important in this plan.