United News of Bangladesh

An Independent Taskforce on Strengthening Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on Monday recommended reforms to transform the agency into a modern and trusted national statistical organization and rebranding it as Statistics Bangladesh (StatBD). The Taskforce, chaired by Executive Chairman of the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman formally submitted its report to the Planning Adviser Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud at his office. The Taskforce has proposed elevating the head of StatBD to the position of Chief Statistician, a Special Scale post, to underscore independence and professionalism. It also recommended creating the Trust and Transparency Council of Statistics (TTCS) — a seven-member body chaired by the Planning Adviser. This high-level council would provide institutional oversight, review annual performance and expenditure audits, and oversee the selection of the Chief Statistician. The Taskforce also suggested amendments to the Statistics Act 2013 to guarantee StatBD’s autonomy in technical matters such as data validation and release and thereby insulating official statistics from administrative or political interference. MJF applauds BBS recognition of women's unpaid work at GDP’s 18.9% To address chronic staffing shortages and structural weaknesses, the report recommended expanding the organisational structure from eight to sixteen wings, creating 437 new Upazila-level posts to strengthen local presence and unifying cadre and non-cadre services. On the financial front, the report prioritises budgetary independence, calling for dedicated revenue funding for core surveys and an immediate Tk. 50 crore allocation to stabilise annual survey operations. To rebuild public confidence, the Taskforce has advocated for an open data and release policy that ensures pre-announced data release calendars, simultaneous access for all users and publication of full metadata and methodological notes. It also proposed holding an Annual Stakeholder Conference to strengthen dialogue among statisticians, policymakers, civil society and the private sector. Advisory committees for major surveys and internship opportunities for young professionals would help make statistical outputs more relevant and credible, it said. The report emphasises capacity building through the transformation of the current training centre into a StatBD Training Academy. The academy would offer structured courses for new recruits, mid-career professionals, and senior management. Bangladesh's food security at risk as farmland shrinks by 3.75 percent in 8 Years: BBS Survey It also recommends establishing a Methodological Advisory Council to ensure standardisation across surveys and harmonize data produced by different agencies. The Taskforce urged the immediate formation of a Recommendation Implementation Task Team chaired by the Planning Adviser to guide phased reforms in the short and medium term. Transforming BBS into StatBD is not just an institutional reform but a trust-building exercise for the nation’s data ecosystem, the Taskforce noted, stressing that credible, independent, and timely statistics are vital for policymaking and public accountability.