7th FYP should focus on people\\\'s interest

Turning Bangladesh into a middle income country by 2021 and a developed one by 2041 is a key objective of the incumbent government. Bangladesh can become a middle-income economy by 2019-20, two years before the target if the economy keeps up its current resilience. The government has already stepped up its initiatives to formulate the 7th Five-Year Plan.
Experts think, with the implementation of programmes under the 6th Five-Year plan, the government has achieved tremendous successes in the economic and social sectors. We've already attained many development goals by implementing planned development programmes. As a result, the GDP and GNI have increased while the poverty rate declined fast. Apart from this, the government has formulated a number of long-term plans considering social protection, sustainable development and climate change. These plans are National Social Protection Strategy, National Sustainable Development Strategy and Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100.
The Sixth FYP has been formulated taking into account the achievements and failures of the past three decades of planning, recent economic developments. The removal of poverty is the foremost objective of the Sixth Plan even though it is recognised that the magnitude of the task cannot be accomplished in a short period of five years. It should be recognised that the Sixth Plan is being launched under difficult conditions. These include the acute inflationary pressures which have prevailed since March 1979, a set-back in the functioning of such critical sectors as power, coal, railways and steel and the sharp rise in the price of petroleum products resulting in deterioration in the nation's terms of trade and the balance of payments. Effective solution for the existing difficulties is a precondition of successful implementation of the Sixth Plan.
The country's economic achievement in the last five years is quite remarkable considering the global recession. The achievements are in economic growth, poverty reduction, disaster management and in women empowerment. As the economic recession in Europe and America is over, there would be a global economic boom in the next five years. So, the next five years would be a hard time for the country and it has to overcome this through relentless work.
The 7th FYP would carry forward the development programmes of the present government. The present government, in light of its election manifesto, has shaped up its Vision-2021 into a long-term perspective plan up to 2041 to make Bangladesh a developed country. The 7th FYP aims to reduce the number of ultra poor to 13 per cent, ensure minimum 2,122 kilo-calorie food for each citizen and nutritious food for at least 85 per cent people by 2021. In addition, the goal has been set to raise the contribution of industries to 40 per cent from 25 per cent in the national growth and increase power production to 24,000 MW from 10,000 MW by 2021.
Furthermore, the size of the annual budget will be 25 per cent of the total GDP by 2021, which is now 18.7 per cent and the revenue income will be 20 per cent of the GDP by 2021 compared with the current 14.1 per cent.
On implementation of the ongoing 6th FYP and the 7th FYP from 2015-16 to 2019-2020 fiscal year, the per capita income of Bangladesh would reach US$ 2,000. The country would be able to fulfil one of the conditions of becoming a mid-income country on the basis of Human Asset Index. So, planning should be done, keeping people's interest high. The implementation would be hard if planning is not done properly. It is the people who ought to be at the centre of the planning process.
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