The total labour force in the country is over 7.34 crore while there are 26.3 lakh people who do not have jobs.  The figure came in the "Labour Force Survey 2022" released by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on Wednesday. Out of the total force, men are 4.74 crore and women  2.59 crore while among the jobless people men are 16.9 lakh and women are 9.4 lakh. The figures came as the BBS organised a discussion meeting at Statistics Bhawan in Agargaon where Planning Minister MA Mannan was present as the chief guest.  According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the unemployed population means those who do not get a chance to work even for an hour in a week. The data showed the unemployment rate decreased in fiscal year 2021-22 compared to fiscal year 2016-17. Previously the unemployment rate was 4.2 percent but now it has come down to 3.6 percent. Read more: Overall inflation rose by 8.78 percent in February: BBS Meanwhile, the number of people aged 15 years and above who are outside the work force is 4.69 crore. On the other hand, the number of people who are engaged in work is 7.78 crore. The BBS revealed the data based on Housing Census-2022, in which information was collected from 1284 primary record areas across the country.  

Pran-RFL Group has received the Bangladesh Business Awards 2021 for its contribution to the business sector. Planning Minister MA Mannan handed over the award to Pran-RFL Chair and Chief Executive Officer Ahsan Khan Chowdhury at a Dhaka hotel Friday. Read: PRAN-RFL targets $2 billion export by 2030 This year, one entrepreneur and two enterprises won the Bangladesh Business Awards for making significant progress in their respective areas in 2021. Pran-RFL received the award in the enterprise of the year category. DHL Express and The Daily Star introduced the Bangladesh Business Awards in 2000 to inspire and motivate the business fraternity to achieve greater heights of productivity. Read Bangladesh's Nuzhat Choudhury wins Outstanding Service in Prevention of Blindness Award

Bangladesh launched a new action plan Tuesday aimed at helping the youth to become entrepreneurs and generate employment for sustaining the country’s economic growth. The 'Bangladesh Impact Investment Strategy and Action Plan ' or BIISAP, launched at an event in Dhaka, focuses on employment generation for sustained growth and take the economy forward.  Speaking at the event Planning Minister MA Mannan praised Bangladesh’s young people as very innovative and ager to start their own businesses.  He said the government is encouraging private public partnership for economic development. Mannan also urged regulators including BB and BSEC for easing policy to provide funds to the young entrepreneurs so they can move forward. Read:Bangladesh receives $2.09 billion remittance in July; highest in 14 months Bangladesh Bank (BB) deputy governor Abul Farah Md Naser was among a host of speakers at the programme. They are Prof Shibli Rubayat-Ul- Islam, chairman BSEC, Mustafa Osman Turan, ambassador of Turkiye to Bangladesh, Nathalie Chouard, ambassador of Switzerland, Sirajul Islam, executive chairman BIDA and Chair, National Advisory Board (NAB) for investment, Khondkar Morshed Millay, Director sustainable finance of BB, Sir Ronald Cohen, chairman, global steering group for impact investment, Arastoo Khan, member secretary NAB, Farhad Reza, CEO of NAB and president Build Bangladesh.  Jonathan Tsuen Yip Wong, chief of technology and innovation trade UNESCAP and Md Tarique Amin Bhuiyan, member Dhaka Stock Exchange made video presentation on investment opportunities in Bangladesh. The BB deputy governor the central bank formed a fund of Tk 1000 crore for start-up of which Tk 500 crore has already been disbursed.  The central bank instructed banks to speed up disbursement of start-up funds and the volume of the funds will be increased if required, he said. Turkiye ambassador Mustafa Osman Turan said dedicated and committed individuals are needed to make success in entrepreneurship. Bangladesh can achieve SDG goals by employment of its huge youth population through creating entrepreneurship, he said. BSEC Chairman Prof Shibli said the policies are being eased to encourage green bond and venture capital for sustainable investment in the country.

The National Economic Council (NEC) on Tuesday approved  the annual development programme for FY23 with an outlay of Tk 2,46,066.09 crore, up by 9.23 per cent from the previous year. The highest allocation has gone to the transport and communication sector apart of prioritising optimum utilization of public fund by checking misuse, Planning Minister MA Mannan told reporters. Some 1,435 projects are in the new ADP including some 1,244 investment projects, some 106 technical assistance projects and some 85 projects to be financed from the own fund of the autonomous bodies and corporations. Read: Only AL govt could keep prices under control preventing street fighting: PM NEC Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presided over the meeting virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban. Ministers, State Ministers, Planning Commission members and secretaries concerned attended the meeting from the NEC Conference Room in the city's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area and also from the Cabinet Division conference room at Bangladesh Secretariat. He said that out of the original ADP outlay of Tk 2,46,066.09 crore for the next fiscal year, Tk 1,53,066.09 crore will come from the local sources while the rest of Tk 93,000 crore will be injected as project assistance. However, considering an allocation of Tk 9,937.18 crore against the autonomous bodies and corporations, the overall ADP allocation for the next fiscal reached Tk 2,56,003.27 crore. The size of original ADP in the running 2021-22 fiscal year was Tk 2,25,324.14 crore which was later downsized at Tk 2,07,550 crore in the revised ADP (RADP). The fresh ADP for the next fiscal is around 9.21 percent higher than the original ADP of the current fiscal year and 18.56 pe rcent higher than the RADP of the current fiscal year. State Minister for Planning  Shamsul Alam, Planning Commission members and secretaries concerned were present at the briefing. Out of the 15 sectors, the transport and communication witnessed the highest ADP allocation of Tk 70,695.52 crore in the next fiscal year followed by the Power and Energy Sector Tk 39,412.36 crore, the education sector Tk 29,081.38 crore, the health sector Tk 19,277.87 crore. The other sectors with fresh ADP allocation are: General government services sector Tk 2,875.28 crore, defense sector Tk 1,270.05 crore, public discipline and protection sector with Tk 3,609.77 crore, industry and economic services sector Tk 5,407.26 crore, agriculture sector Tk 10,143.57 crore, local government and rural development with Tk 16,465.02 crore, environment, climate change and water resources with Tk 9,859.25 crore, housing and community facilities with Tk 24,497.22 crore, religion, culture and entertainment sector with Tk 2,364.91 crore, science and ICT sector with Tk 4,167.90 crore and social security sector with Tk 2,569.73 crore. According to ministry and division wise new ADP allocation, the Local Government Division enjoyed the highest allocation of around Tk 35,842 crore followed by the Road Transport and Highways Division with around Tk 31,296 crore, the Power Division with around Tk 24,139 crore, Ministry of Science and Technology with around Tk 16,011 crore, Health Services Division with around Tk 15,851 crore, Ministry of Railways with around Tk 14,929 crore, Secondary and Higher Education Division with around Tk 14,001 crore, Ministry of Primary and Mass Education with around Tk 11,642 crore, Bridges Division with around Tk 9,290 crore and the Ministry of Water Resources with around Tk 7,938 crore. Out of the mega projects, the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project received the highest fresh ADP allocation of around Tk 13,396 crore followed by the Fourth Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP-4) with around Tk 8,759 crore, Matarbari 2x600 MW ultra super critical coal fired power plant with around Tk 6,554 crore, Expansion of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (1st phase) with around Tk 6,019 crore, Padma Bridge Rail Link Project with around Tk 5,809 crore, COVID-19 Emergency Response and Pandemic Preparedness (WB-GoB) project with around Tk 4,254 crore, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge Construction Project with around Tk 3,851 crore, Dhaka-Ashulia elevated expressway construction project with around Tk 3,703 crore, Expansion and strengthening of power system network under DPDC area with around Tk 3,059 crore and Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development Project (Line-6) with around Tk 2,883 crore. Read: Bangladesh seeks collective efforts in crime prevention, criminal justice The planning minister said that the prime minister has directed them to check misuse of public fund in all tiers of government machinery. He said the meeting was informed that the construction work of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge project is at the final stage while with the completion of the Padma Bridge Rail Link project, connectivity of the southern region with the other parts of the country would be further enhanced and thus dynamism would be infused in the economy. He mentioned that once the Padma Bridge rail link project is completed, it would facilitate transportation of goods to and from Payra Port. Besides, the work on the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project is right on schedule, the minister added. Responding to a question regarding possible measures of the government in the next fiscal year considering the global volatile condition, Mannan said that the government would definitely try to make the necessary expenditure in due time by stopping misuse. "We're cautious, but we're not afraid of anything," he said. He said that the flow of foreign loans to Bangladesh would not face any disturbance in the coming days. State Minister for Planning Shamsul Alam said although the number of projects in the new ADP has been reduced in line with the government's plan, but the overall ADP allocation has been increased.   Planning Commission Member Mamun-Al-Rashid said that considering the pandemic situation and the performance of the Ministry of Health, its allocation in the fresh ADP witnessed a rise of 12 per cent.

The country’s per capita income  increased by US$ 233  to US$ 2,824 during FY22, as per a provisional estimate of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). Planning Minister MA Mannan disclosed this at a press briefing after the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) held at the NEC conference room here on Tuesday. Also read: Growing per capita income contributed to reduce child marriage: Planning Minister Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the meeting, joining it virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban. “Our per capita income went up to US$ 2,824 or Tk 241,470 in the 2021-22 fiscal, which was US$ 2,591 in the last fiscal (2020-21),” said Mannan. The GDP’s provisional estimate was done done based on the available data and statistics of 6-7 months of the current 2021-22. As per the estimate, the GDP growth rate is 7.25 per cent in the  FY22, which was 6.94 per cent in the last fiscal year, said the minister. Also read: Don’t evaluate Bangladesh by Sri Lanka model: Mannan The country’s GDP has increased to US$ 465 billion (Tk 39,76,500 crore) in the 2021-22 fiscal from US$ 416 billion (Tk 35,30,200 crore) in the 2020-21 fiscal. Among the three major sectors, the growth rates are 2.20 per cent in the agriculture sector, 10.44 per cent in the industrial sector and 6.31 per cent in the service sector.

Planning Minister MA Mannan has said it is wrong to evaluate Bangladesh by Sri Lanka model considering the country's economic development. Bangladesh does not take unnecessary projects in any circumstances, he said. The minister was briefing reporters after the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Tuesday. Also read:Government agencies need to be friendly to business: MA Mannan A total of 12 projects were approved at the meeting where the Ecnec chair Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina joined through video conferencing from Ganobhaban. Mannan said the ECNEC has given final approval for 12 projects at a cost of Tk1,2016.88 crore. Of this, government funding is Tk 7,990.14 crore, foreign funding is Tk 3,000.39 crore and funding from its own source is Tk 594.43 crore. Replying to a question he said “Considering the economic situation, do not compare Bangladesh with Sri Lanka. Some people are trying to do it. It is not right." In response to a question whether unproductive projects are being taken in Bangladesh like Sri Lanka, the minister said, "We do not do unnecessary work. We do what is good for the people of the country. Sri Lanka and our context are not the same. Sri Lanka is our friend state. I will not comment on this.” Also read:Lack of authentic data held back timely implementation of incentive package: MA Mannan “We are researching, watching and listening. I repeat, the economy of Sri Lanka and the economy of Bangladesh are not the same,” Mannan added.

Bangladesh achieved an impressive 6.94 percent GDP growth in the 2020-21 fiscal year amid the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a final estimate of the government. The country's GDP size stood at US$ 416 billion and the per capita income rose to US$ 2,591 (as per GNI) in the last fiscal year, said Planning Minister MA Mannan quoting the estimate. Read:Govt targets 17% expenditure of GDP for next two fiscals: Document The estimate was placed at the weekly meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Tuesday. Ecnec Chair and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presided over the meeting, joining it virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban. Other ministers and officials concerned were connected with the meeting from the NEC conference room.  "The GDP growth rate finally stood at 6.94 percent in the last fiscal year, which is much higher than the provisional estimate of 5.43 percent," said Minister Mannan while briefing reporters after the meeting. 

The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Tuesday cleared eight projects, including a Tk 3,263.63-crore one to construct Kewatkhali Bridge over the Brahmaputra River in Mymensingh. The approval came from the weekly Ecnec meeting held with Ecnec Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. The PM joined the meeting virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban, while others from the NEC conference room of the Planning Commission. Read: Govt to spend Tk 4,167cr on 10 projects, Ecnec gives nod “Today, the meeting approved eight projects with the overall estimated cost of Tk 5,441.63 crore (only additional cost of a revised project was counted here),” said Planning Minister MA Mannan while briefing reporters after the meeting. Of the cost, Tk 3,332.72 will come from the public coffer while Tk 2,060.98 crore from foreign sources as loans and the rest Tk 47.93 crore from the own fund of an organisation concerned, he said. The Kewatkhali steel arch bridge will be constructed by June, 2025 in order to establish improved road connectivity of Sherpur and Netrakona with the Mymensingh headquarters and the national capital. The main project operations include construction of a 2093-meter bridge foundation and substructure, 320-meter steel arch bridge superstructure, 1773-meter concrete bridge and construction of culverts, construction of a toll plaza, and 33.02 hectares of land acquisition and rehabilitation. Under the project, an overpass and 6.2-lm four-lane approach roads will be constructed alongside the main bridge. The planning minister said there would be four-lane approach roads on both sides of the bridge to be constructed with the latest technology. In reply to a question, Member (Physical Infrastructure Division) of the Planning Commission Mamun Al Rashid said that it would be the first steel arch bridge unlike other steel bridges in Bangladesh. “There’ll be no pillar under the main structure of the bridge so that the river navigation is not hampered,” he said. Read: Ecnec rejects Tk 17,290-cr primary school meal project Out of the project cost, Tk 1,353.83 crore will come from government funds, while Tk 1,909.79 crore as project assistance from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). At the meeting, the Prime Minister directed the authorities concerned to construct an increased number of culverts in the flood-prone areas so that the usual water flow is not hindered, said MA Mannan. She stressed the need for modernizing and improving the operation of the bio-gas plants. Hasina put emphasis on the export of agricultural products maintaining the international standards of the goods, Mannan added. Referring to the approval of a project designed to transform the plant quarantine laboratory to an international standard one at the central packing house with Tk 156.36 crore, State Minister Planning Dr Shamsul Alam said the export volume of agricultural products of Bangladesh is now hovering over US$ 1 billion. So, the project has been undertaken to modernise the laboratory with the use of the latest technology and equipment in order to boost agricultural goods export. The five other new projects are Capacity Enhancement of existing Grid Substation and Transmission Line with an estimated cost of Tk 774.86 crore; Development of Madarganj-Koira-Monsurnagar (Kazipur)-Abdullah Mor(Sarishabari)-Dhonbari Road with Tk 685.13 crore; Massive Technology-based Integrated Resource Management for Poverty Alleviation with Tk 209.17 crore; Climate Smart Agriculture and Water Management (DoF Part) (CSAWMP) involving Tk 106.25 crore; and River Protection of Dhepa, Punorbhoba and Tangon Rivers in Dinajpur District with Tk 180.05 crore. Besides, Ecnec cleared the first revision of “Urban Resilience Project: Dhaka North City Corporation Part (DNCC Part) increasing the cost to Tk 812.23 crore from Tk 746.05 crore and extending the project deadline to April 2022 from June 2020.

The National Economic Council (NEC) on Tuesday approved the Annual Development Programme (ADP) involving Tk 225,324 crore for 1,426 projects for the 2021-22 fiscal year with focus on transport and communications, power, housing, education and health sectors. Among the approved projects, 1,308 will be investment ones while 118 will be of technical assistance. The approval to the ADP was given at an NEC meeting held at its conference room. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who joined the meeting from her official residence Ganobhaban through videoconferencing, presided over it.  Planning Minister MA Mannan said Tk 11,469 crore also was allocated for autonomous entities.   Read: Govt upgrading ADP implementation capacity for growth acceleration Of the Tk 225,324 crore, an amount of Tk 137,300 crore will come from internal sources while Tk 88,224 crore from foreign sources.  Of the Tk 11,469 crore of the autonomous entities, the internal sources will provide Tk 6717 crore while the foreign portion will be Tk 4751crore. The Planning Minister said the number of development projects for the next fiscal year for autonomous entities will be 89.  The total number of development projects will be 1515 involving Tk 236,793 crore.  Transport sector will get Tk 61,631 (27.35%) while power sector Tk 45,668 crore (20.36%), Housing and Community facilities Tk 23,747 crore (10.54 crore), Education Tk 23,178 crore (10.29%), Health Tk 17, 307 crore (7.68), Local government and rural development Tk 14, 274 crore (6.34%), Environment, climate change and water Tk 8,526 crore (3.78%), Agriculture Tk 7,665 crore (3.40%), industries and economic services Tk 4,638 crore (2.06%) and Science and Information Technology Tk 3,587 crore (1.59%). Local Government Division will get the highest allocation of Tk 33, 896 crore followed by road transportation and highways division Tk 28042 crore, Power Division Tk 25, 349 crore, Science and Technology Ministry Tk 20, 634 crore, Railways Ministry Tk 13, 558 crore, Health Service Division Tk 13, 000 crore, Secondary and Higher Secondary Division Tk 11, 920 crore, Bridges Division Tk 9,813 crore, Primary and Mass Education Division Tk 8, 022 crore, and Water Resources Ministry Tk 6,871 crore. Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant will get the highest allocation in the next fiscal with Tk 18426.16 crore followed by Matarbari Ultra Super critical Coal Powered Power Project Tk 6162 crore, Primary Education Development Programme-IV Tk 5053.98 crore, Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development Project (Line-6) Tk 4800 crore, Padma Bridge Rail Connection (1st amended) Tk 3823.51 crore, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge Tk 3580 crore, Padma Multipurpose Bridge (2nd amended) Tk 3500 crore, Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated expressway Tk 3227.20 crore, Expansion and Strengthening of Power System Network under DPDC Area Tk 3051.11 crore and Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Expansion (1st phase) (1st amendment) Tk 2827.52 crore. While briefing reporters after the meeting, minister Mannan said that the Prime Minister has given some directives, including one not to appoint foreign consultants indiscriminately to development projects. Read:Ambitious ADP worth Tk 2.13trn on the cards “Foreign consultants will be appointed as per requirement, not indiscriminately. We won’t appoint consultants blindly, they’ll be appointed as per need after scrutiny,” he said. The minister said the Prime Minister asked the officials concerned to complete the projects that have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Stressing the importance of research, the Prime Minister directed all the ministries to utilise their funds properly that will be given for research. In the next fiscal ADP, Tk 4,147 crore has been earmarked as block allocation against the new projects of which Tk 2,893 crore will be mobilised from local sources while Tk 1,254 crore as project loan. Some 596 unapproved new projects have been incorporated in the new ADP without any allocation while 141 new unapproved projects have been included in the new ADP subject to the availability of foreign funds.   There are 88 projects to be implemented under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) while 356 projects have been earmarked for completion by June 30, 2022.   Besides, 73 projects that were supposed to be completed by June this year will be completed by the next fiscal year (FY22).   The Planning Minister said the economy of Bangladesh is performing well despite the shock of the pandemic due to the good performances in the agriculture sector and also for the domestic labour and the hard-earned remittances being sent by expatriate Bangladeshis.   Read:NEC approves Tk 197,643-cr revised ADP Referring to the recent attainment of $2,227 per capita income, Mannan said the per capita income has witnessed a jump of 9 percent despite the pandemic and this shows the resilience of the domestic economy.   He also said the current size of the country's GDP is Tk 30,111 billion or $355.04 billion.   Replying to a question, the Planning Minister said the Ministry of Health has attained a very good capacity over the years in implementing development projects. He said although there was a bit of sloth in the operation of the Health Ministry when the Covid-19 hit the country last year, it regained momentum in its operation and subsequently made a pick up within the next one or two months after the attack of the pandemic.    

The country’s per capita income has increased to US$ 2,227 (Tk 188,873) from US$ 2,064. Planning Minister MA Mannan placed the statistics in the virtual Cabinet meeting held with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair on Tuesday, said Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam while briefing reporters. The Prime Minister virtually joined the meeting from her official residence Ganobhaban, while other Cabinet members from the Bangladesh Secretariat. Read: Extension of lockdown causing anxiety among low-income earners “Our per capita income has stood at US$ 2,227 in 2020-21 fiscal year. But the previous per capita income was US$ 2064. So, the growth is 9 percent,” said the Cabinet Secretary. He said the country’s GDP has also increased to Tk 30,87,300 crore from Tk 27,96,358 crore, according to the primary data. “It’s a good achievement,” said the top bureaucrat. In the meeting, the Prime Minister was greeted on her homecoming day. Read Covid fallout: ADB lowers Bangladesh's FY21 growth forecast