The government of Bangladesh is hoping to return the economy to its pre-COVID growth momentum by the end of the current fiscal (2023-24), although that presents a significant challenge in the face of a clutch of economic headwinds. The government’s vision for economic recovery is outlined in the "Medium Term Macroeconomic Policy Statement 2023-24 to 2025-26," prepared by the Macroeconomy Wing of the Finance Division, under the Finance Ministry. It maintains that with the onset of the pandemic in 2020, the economy was knocked off its fast-paced growth trajectory for large parts of the last three years. The first confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Bangladesh were reported in March 2020, less than three months after the outbreak in Wuhan. Recently published quarterly GDP data (in keeping with a condition set by the IMF) bears this out. It reveals that the economy contracted by a massive 7.86 percent in the last quarter of the 2019-20 fiscal (April to June 2020), as the virus spread throughout the globe. Read more: Financing, technology and innovation needed for just transition to greener economy: Shahriar Alam According to the quarterly data released retrospectively by the Bureau of Statistics (BBS) last month, GDP had grown by between 6.5 to 8 percent in the first three quarters of 2019-20. That reflects the extent to which the wind was knocked out of the economy by the negative growth (contraction) in the fourth quarter. The slump induced by Covid would keep economic performance depressed through the first two quarters of the next fiscal (2020-21). It wasn’t until the 3Q (January to March, 2021) that the first signs of a recovery would become visible. As the 2021-22 fiscal kicked in, Bangladesh looked ready to put Covid-19 behind it, having implemented a successful vaccination programme and lifted lockdown restrictions. The economy rallied robustly, and GDP growth touched 10 percent in the third quarter (January to March 2022). Yet even as the recovery was underway, the seeds for it to stumble were sown halfway across the globe, with Russia going to war in Ukraine in February 2022. The resulting volatility in international energy markets and supply chain disruptions would knock the momentum out again, of the country’s post-Covid recovery. Read more: World Bank forecasts Sri Lankan economy to grow by 1.7% in 2024 Although there was nothing like the contraction precipitated by Covid-19, the economy did experience a severe slowdown in the last quarter of FY22, slipping to just 2.6 percent from the previous quarter’s high of 10 percent. “Bangladesh also braced for impacts on its economy. However, actual data shows that Bangladesh did impressively even during the height of the Covid-19 outbreak and is expected to return to pre-Covid growth trajectory by the end of FY 2023-24,” the statement surmises. If everything goes according to plan and ‘assumptions hold’, it says that 8 percent GDP growth rate can be attained again in 2025-26. “Therefore, the deviation of the actual from the planned growth envisaged in the 8th FYP (Five Year Plan) remained small,” it said. Read more: Bangladesh economy hit hard by Ukraine war The Macroeconomic Policy Statement mentions capital accumulation is key for development and hence the government aims to foster private investment along with public investment towards fulfilment of its goals.. Total investment in FY 2021-22 stood at 32 percent of GDP in which the contribution of the private and the public sectors were 24.5 and 7.5 percent, respectively. To achieve the long and medium-term growth targets, the level of investment will need to be increased further. The statement points out that there is room to increase the implementation rate of public investment. If the pace of implementation of development projects can be increased, the required level of investment can be attained. “Recognising this, the government has taken steps to bring about some structural changes in both project design and implementation levels,” it says in the statement. Read more: BGMEA-Circle Economy ink MoU to accelerate garment, textile sector’s transition towards circular economy The Finance Division document said that the Russia-Ukraine war has put global energy supplies at risk. Russia is a major global supplier of energy and hence when the war broke out, commodity prices spiked fast. Bangladesh started to suffer from this like almost all other countries. By December 2022, point-to-point inflation rose to 8.7 percent and then further rose to 9.3 percent by March 2023. However, global commodity prices are already falling, and central banks have raised policy rates and because of this it is expected that inflation will come down in the coming months. The IMF has projected that the measures taken by the governments will help reduce inflation in the medium-term. The Finance Division has projected that average inflation will fall significantly to 6.0 percent in 2023-24, although there has been no indication of it through the first quarter (July to September). Read more: Bangladesh Budget 2023-24 passed in parliament In order to tame inflation and protect the incomes of the poor, the government has emphasised increasing the domestic production of essential items, while gradually tightening monetary policy. The document says that food inflation hurts the poor the most. Keeping this in mind, the government through various measures, including subsidies and incentives, encouraged the growth of agricultural output. To support the agriculture sector, disbursement of credit to the sector has been increased. By the end of February 2023, the disbursement of agricultural credit and non-farm rural credit amounted to Tk. 210.66 billion in the first 8 months of the last fiscal, which was almost 14 percent higher, year on year. Read more: Why inflation persists at a higher level in Bangladesh With the help of supportive policies of the government, the general index of industrial production (medium and large-scale manufacturing) has been on the rise, reflecting expanded industrial production. Dr Masrur Reaz, a prominent economist and public policy analyst, believes it would be very challenging to regain the pre-Covid momentum within the current fiscal, since a number of macroeconomic indicators have become unstable. Talking to UNB, he suggested the government focus on stabilising the macroeconomic situation first, which would make the economy more sustainable in the long run. Dr Reaz pointed out that high inflation, severe foreign exchange/dollar crisis preventing, among other things, opening of LCs, and the fluctuating value of domestic currency taka, should be resolved first. Read more: Businesses should get opportunities to turn around before wholesale declaration of loan defaulters: FBCCI President “To bring the economy back to its pre-Covid growth rate, these issues should be resolved first, which itself would be very challenging and difficult in a short time,” he opined. Explaining further, Dr Reaz said: “The time is to stabilise the economy rather than focus on growth. In the long run, the economy will grow through reducing the high rate of non-performing loans, keeping inflation within reasonable limits and achieving exchange rate stability.”

Bangladesh reported two more Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours till Saturday morning. With the new numbers, the country's total caseload rose to 2,037,856, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,445 as no new fatalities were reported. Read: RU student stabbed on campus, 3 held The daily case test positivity rate dropped to 0.23 percent from Friday's 0.26 percent as 876 samples were tested. The recovery rate increased to 98.35 percent. However, the death rate remained unchanged at 1.44 percent.  

Bangladesh reported four more Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours till Friday morning. With the new numbers, the country's total caseload rose to 2,037,854, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,445 as no new fatalities were reported. Read: One more dengue case reported in 24 hrs: DGHS The daily case test positivity rate dropped to 0.26 percent from Thursday's 0.44 percent as 1,537 samples were tested. The recovery rate increased to 98.33 percent. However, the death rate remained unchanged at 1.44 percent. Bangladesh registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and highest number of fatalities of 264 on August 10 the same year.

The total number of Covid-19 cases in the world is now approaching 680 million. According to the latest global data, the total Covid-19 case count amounted to 679,820,161 while the death toll from the virus reached 6,799,203 this morning. The US has reported 105,266,332 Covid-19 cases so far, while 1,145,415 people have died from the virus in the country — both highest counts globally. India logged 218 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases rose to 2,149, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. The death toll stands at 5,30,769 with five new deaths reported. The virus case tally was recorded at 4.46 crore (4,46,86,017), while the national Covid-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.80 per cent, the ministry said. Read: Coronavirus origins still a mystery 3 years into pandemic Meanwhile, France has registered 39,616,580 Covid-19 cases so far, occupying the third position in the world number-wise, and 164,929 people have died in the country, as per Worldometer. Covid-19 situation in Bangladesh Bangladesh reported 10 more Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours till Monday morning. With the new numbers, the country's total caseload rose to 2,037,818, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,445 as no new fatalities were reported. The daily Covid-19 test positivity rate increased to 0.44 percent from Sunday’s 0.51 percent as 2,253 samples were tested.  

Bangladesh reported seven more Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours till Sunday morning. With the new numbers, the country's total caseload rose to 2,037,750, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,445 as no new fatalities were reported. Read: Bangladesh reports one more Covid death, 259 new cases The daily case test positivity rate increased to 0.42 percent from Saturday's 0.28 percent as 1,662 samples were tested. The recovery rate increased to 98.12 percent. However, the death rate remained unchanged at 1.44 percent. Bangladesh registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and highest number of fatalities of 264 on August 10 the same year.

Bangladesh reported eight more Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours till Thursday morning. With the new number, the country's total caseload rose to 2,037,655, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Read more: Bangladesh sees one more Covid death, 11 cases However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,444 as no new fatalities were reported. The daily case test positivity rate dropped to 0.36 percent from Wednesday's 0.42 as the 2,622 samples were tested. The recovery rate increased to 97.97% while the death rate remained at 1.44 percent. Bangladesh registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and its highest number of fatalities of 264 on August 10 the same year.  

The overall number of Covid-19 cases around the world has now crossed 675 million, with a sudden surge of cases in Asia and some other parts of the world. According to the latest global data, the total Covid-19 case count was 675,013,547 while the death toll from the virus reached 6,760,663 this morning (January 31, 2023). The US has recorded 104,183,562 Covid-19 cases so far, while 1,132,719 people have died from the virus in the North American country, both highest counts around the world. India on Monday (January 30, 2023) reported 80 new Covid-19 cases, taking the total number of infections to 4,46,82,719. Read more: Govt starts administering 2nd booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine in Bangladesh The country also saw two new Covid-related deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the number of deaths to 530,740, according to the health ministry's website. Meanwhile, Canada has renewed its number of total Covid-19 cases and deaths to 4,550,256 and 50,380, respectively, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said on Monday. Covid-19 situation in Bangladesh Bangladesh reported 11 more Covid-19 cases in 24 hours till Monday morning. With the new number, the country's total caseload rose to 2,037,543, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Read more: Children aged 5-11 get Covid jabs on trial basis However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,442 as no new fatalities were reported.

The overall number of global Covid-19 cases is gradually nearing 672 million, with the sudden surge of the virus’ Omicron sub-variant in Asia and some other parts of the world. According to the latest global data, the total Covid-19 case count mounted to 671,889,386 while the death toll from the virus reached 6,733,572 this morning. The US has recorded 103,614,411 Covid-19 cases so far, while 1,125,895 people have died from the virus in the country, both highest counts around the world. Read: China reports 60,000 COVID-related deaths since early December India recorded 89 new coronavirus infections, the lowest since March 27, 2020, while the active cases declined to 2,035, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday. The Covid-19 case tally for the country stood at 4.46 crore (4,46,81,233) while the death counts were at 5,30,726. Meanwhile, France has registered 39,461,387 Covid-19 cases so far, occupying the third position in the world, while 163,562 people have died in the country, as per the Worldometer. Covid-19 situation in Bangladesh Bangladesh reported nine more Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours till Tuesday morning. Read: Covid-19: Bangladesh logs 9 more cases With the new number, the country's total caseload rose to 2,037,386, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,441 as no new fatalities were reported.

Bangladesh reported 22 more Covid cases in the 24 hours till Thursday morning. With the new numbers, the country's total caseload rose to 2,037,089, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,439 as no new fatalities were reported. Read more: Bangladesh logs 21 more Covid cases Bangladesh logs 21 more Covid cases The daily case test positivity increased to 1.09 from Wednesday's 0.79 percent as 2,133 samples were tested during the period. The mortality and recovery rates remained unchanged at 1.45 percent and 97.57 percent respectively. In November, the country reported 10 Covid-linked deaths and 1,345 cases. Bangladesh registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 the same year.

Bangladesh reported seven more Covid cases in the 24 hours till Monday morning. With the new numbers, the country's total caseload rose to 2,037,031, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,439 as no new fatalities were reported. The daily case test positivity increased to 0.47 percent from Sunday’s 0.44 percent as 1,486 samples were tested during the period. Read more: Bangladesh reports another death from Covid, 6 more cases The mortality and recovery rates remained unchanged at 1.45 percent and 97.56 percent, respectively. In November, the country reported 10 Covid-linked deaths and 1,345 cases. Bangladesh registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 the same year. Read more: Amid surge in Omicron BF.7 in countries, DGHS asks for necessary steps at airports and other entry points