Speakers at a workshop on Monday called upon the government, development partners and private sector for enabling an environment for inclusive insurance and risk financing for the country’s sustainable development, leaving no one behind.  The event titled ‘Inception workshop on Country Diagnostic on Inclusive Insurance and Risk Finance for Bangladesh‘ “was organized at a hotel in Dhaka, by the Financial Institutions Division (FID), Ministry of Finance, Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Sheikh Mohammad Salim Ullah, Secretary, FID, Ministry of Finance, attended the workshop as the chief guest, while Mohammad Joynul Bari, Chairman, IDRA and Van Nguyen, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Bangladesh were the special guests.  Among others, Dr. Baqui Khalily, Chairman Risk Management Committee, Bank Asia and Abdullah Harun Pasha, Additional Secretary, FID, Ministry of Finance were also present.     Also read: Default loans cross over 126 crore: Finance Minister  Sheikh Mohammad Salim Ullah said, “There is an increasing need for decision makers to be involved in developing the insurance products. They also need to understand how climate change risks could affect their investments and how to mitigate those risks through proper planning, incentive structures and financial instruments. In this context, to achieve the mission of developing an efficient, inclusive and robust financial market and services system, FID is continuously working on many projects. Being a part of this project is another milestone for our institution to enter the groundwork in inert-related areas of insurance and risk finance. ” A.K.M. Mamunur Rashid, Climate Change Specialist, UNDP Bangladesh set the tone of the event.  He provided a brief overview of why inclusive insurance and risk financing are essential for Bangladesh to cover the risks of the most vulnerable communities. Jan Kellett, Team Leader, Insurance and Risk Finance Facility (IRFF), UNDP delivered a presentation on “Initiatives of the Insurance and Risk Finance Facility, UNDP and several best practices in the space of inclusive insurance and risk financing”.  Van Nguyen from UNDP said, “ I hope that under the leadership of FID, MoF and IDRA as the regulatory authorities, strong representation of the insurance industry and relevant key stakeholders – the country diagnostic will provide us with a clear direction for creating enabling environment for mainstreaming inclusive insurance and risk financing in the country. We are committed to continuing our support in the future to strengthen the legislative frameworks, institutional capacity and insurance industry for enhancing the resilience of the most vulnerable communities and achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Bangladesh.” Dr. M. Baqui Khalily, Chairman, Risk Management Committee, Bank Asia,  Nasir Uddin Ahmed, First Vice President, Bangladesh Insurance Association, Netai Dey Sarker, Director, Department of Disaster Management, Government of Bangladesh also spoke at the event. Also read:Commit 2% of GDP to climate finance each year: civil society organisations Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries due to its low-lying delta ecosystem that exposes the country to several disasters such as flash floods, monsoon floods, cyclones, storm surges, salinity intrusion, draught and unpredictable rainfall, said UNDP.  The government of Bangladesh (GoB) is keen to explore the insurance industry to consider it as a risk transfer mechanism. UNDP is conducting a country diagnostic that will document and assess the risks and vulnerability in Bangladesh considering the existing enabling environment and financial instruments.  The diagnostic study will highlight challenges, opportunities, and areas where UNDP can, together with partners, provide the necessary support for the government and private stakeholders to improve the enabling environment for inclusive insurance and risk financing.

Parliament on Monday passed the supplementary budget of Tk 13,987.27 crore for the fiscal 2020-21 to meet the increased expenditures under 19 different ministries and divisions.Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal placed the supplementary budget in the House on June 3 along with the national budget. Read: Poor, jobless people largely ignored in budget: BNPA total of Tk 568,000 crore was allocated in favour of 62 ministries and divisions in the budget of 2020-21 fiscal.In the supplementary budget, the expenditure for 19 ministries and divisions was increased by Tk 13,987.27 crore while the expenditures for 43 ministries and divisions was reduced by 42,481.87 crore.As a result, the budget allocations for these ministries and divisions were reduced by Tk 29,017 crore and the total allocation now stands at Tk 538,983 crore.On Monday, the Finance Minister moved the Supplementary Budget in the House following general discussions on it.Different ministries, divisions and institutions sought increased amount under 19 demands for grant. As many as 190 cut-motions were moved by 11 members. Read:New budget proposals inadequate in tackling poverty, say rights groupsDiscussions, however, were held on two cut-motions – on financial institutions division and health services division.These cut motions were brought by Jatiya Party MPs Kazi Firoz Rashid, Mujibul Huq, Fakhrul Imam, Rowshan Ara Mannan, Shamim Haider Patwary, Liaquat Hossain Khoka, BNP MPs Md Harunur Rashid, Rumin Farhana, Md. Mosharof Hosen and Gonoforum MP Mukabbir Khan and Independent MP Md. Rezaul Karim Bablu.However, those cut-motions were rejected by voice votes.The Local government Division got the highest allocation of Tk 2890.45 crore while the Rural Development and Cooperatives Division the lowest Tk 1.40 crore. Read: New budget underestimated impacts of COVID-19 pandemic, says SANEMThe Prime Minister’s Office got Tk 482.03 crore while the Cabinet Division Tk 9.70 crore, the Election Commission Secretariat Tk 79.09 crore, the Financial Institutions Division Tk 205.59 crore, the Planning Division Tk 242.75 crore, IMED Tk 6.74 crore, the Statistics and information Management Division Tk 142.84 crore, the Primary and Mass Education Ministry Tk 1005.15 crore, the Heath Services Division Tk 2850.48 crore, the Housing and Public Works Ministry Tk 489.37 crore, the Religious Affairs Ministry Tk 384.51 crore, the Industries Ministry Tk 565.37 crore, the Textile and Jute Ministry Tk 1905.68 crore, the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry Tk 332.78 crore, the Water Resources Ministry Tk 1039.99 crore, the Transportation and Highways Division Tk 676.62 crore and the Shipping Ministry Tk 676.66 crore.

The government has reappointed Fazle Kabir as the Governor of Bangladesh Bank for the next two years until July 3, 2022.