Cabinet yet to finalise Perspective Plan
Thursday, 8 July 2010
The cabinet committee on reviewing the Perspective Plan is yet to finalize the country's long-term Plan, which will be the base of the ongoing 6th five-year plan (2010-15) and the 7th five-year plan (2015-20), reports UNB.
The draft of the 'Outline Perspective Plan of Bangladesh (2010-2021):
Making Vision 2021 A Reality' was finalised this April in a bid to achieve a fast expanding economic system in the country through reducing poverty quickly by 2021 and also attaining higher economic growth.
The draft was first placed before the cabinet for discussion on May 24 from where some recommendations came. After considering those recommendations, the draft plan was again placed before the cabinet on June 7.
The same day, the cabinet formed a five-member committee, headed by Prime Minister's Economic Affairs Adviser Dr Mashiur Rahman, to review the Plan.
General Economics Division (GED) member of Planning Commission Prof Shamsul Alam was made the member-secretary of the review committee. The other three members are Finance Division Secretary Dr Mohammad Tareq, Planning Division Secretary M Habibullah Majumder and a Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank.
A highly placed source at the Planning Ministry said that some 20 ministers and advisers put forward their recommendations about the Plan before the review committee by June 13, but the committee is yet to sit to finalise the Plan.
The source said there might be a little delay in the implementation of the 6th Five-Year Plan as it would be finalised on the basis of the Perspective Plan.
A panel of experts, appointed by the government, has thoroughly analysed the outline of the Perspective Plan before GED gave it a complete shape.
The panel of experts included renowned economists, sociologists and technologists like Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, Dr Farashuddin, Dr Jamilur Reza Chowdhury, Dr Atiur Rahman, Dr Mustafa Kamal Mujeri and Dr Mustafizur Rahman. They volunteered their cooperation to prepare different chapters of the outline of the Perspective Plan.
When contacted, Prof Shamsul Alam, member-secretary of the review committee, said the committee would sit at the earliest possible, most probably in the next week, to finalise the Perspective Plan.
He informed that after finalising the Plan, they would formally inform the Cabinet Division Secretary.
The Perspective Plan (2010-21) aims at achieving 8.0 per cent GDP growth by 2015 and 10 per cent by 2021. Besides, it also aims to increase the per capita income to US$ 2,000 by 2021 from the present US$ 690.
The Perspective Plan will eye to elevate Bangladesh to a mid-income country by 2021 from the ranks of the Least Developed Country (LDC).
It will also focus to keep the annual inflation rate at between 6.0 and 8.0 per cent by 2021 through efficient management of both monetary and revenue policy. The outline of the Plan has projected unemployment rate at 20 per cent by 2015 and at 15 per cent by 2021. According to the outline, the contribution for agriculture, industry and services sectors in the GDP has been fixed at 16, 35 and 49 per cent respectively by 2015 and at 15, 40 and 45 per cent by 2021.
It also emphasised raising the admission rate for primary level education to 100 per cent by 2021 and freeing Bangladesh from illiteracy by 2014.
Besides, it also aims to reduce the number of people below the poverty line at 14 per cent by 2021, upgrading annual per capita electricity use to 600kwh, strengthening technology to build digital Bangladesh and facing the adverse effects of climate change.
Earlier, in 1995, the Planning Commission took an initiative to formulate a perspective plan (1995-2010) but the effort could not succeed.
The draft of the 'Outline Perspective Plan of Bangladesh (2010-2021):
Making Vision 2021 A Reality' was finalised this April in a bid to achieve a fast expanding economic system in the country through reducing poverty quickly by 2021 and also attaining higher economic growth.
The draft was first placed before the cabinet for discussion on May 24 from where some recommendations came. After considering those recommendations, the draft plan was again placed before the cabinet on June 7.
The same day, the cabinet formed a five-member committee, headed by Prime Minister's Economic Affairs Adviser Dr Mashiur Rahman, to review the Plan.
General Economics Division (GED) member of Planning Commission Prof Shamsul Alam was made the member-secretary of the review committee. The other three members are Finance Division Secretary Dr Mohammad Tareq, Planning Division Secretary M Habibullah Majumder and a Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank.
A highly placed source at the Planning Ministry said that some 20 ministers and advisers put forward their recommendations about the Plan before the review committee by June 13, but the committee is yet to sit to finalise the Plan.
The source said there might be a little delay in the implementation of the 6th Five-Year Plan as it would be finalised on the basis of the Perspective Plan.
A panel of experts, appointed by the government, has thoroughly analysed the outline of the Perspective Plan before GED gave it a complete shape.
The panel of experts included renowned economists, sociologists and technologists like Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, Dr Farashuddin, Dr Jamilur Reza Chowdhury, Dr Atiur Rahman, Dr Mustafa Kamal Mujeri and Dr Mustafizur Rahman. They volunteered their cooperation to prepare different chapters of the outline of the Perspective Plan.
When contacted, Prof Shamsul Alam, member-secretary of the review committee, said the committee would sit at the earliest possible, most probably in the next week, to finalise the Perspective Plan.
He informed that after finalising the Plan, they would formally inform the Cabinet Division Secretary.
The Perspective Plan (2010-21) aims at achieving 8.0 per cent GDP growth by 2015 and 10 per cent by 2021. Besides, it also aims to increase the per capita income to US$ 2,000 by 2021 from the present US$ 690.
The Perspective Plan will eye to elevate Bangladesh to a mid-income country by 2021 from the ranks of the Least Developed Country (LDC).
It will also focus to keep the annual inflation rate at between 6.0 and 8.0 per cent by 2021 through efficient management of both monetary and revenue policy. The outline of the Plan has projected unemployment rate at 20 per cent by 2015 and at 15 per cent by 2021. According to the outline, the contribution for agriculture, industry and services sectors in the GDP has been fixed at 16, 35 and 49 per cent respectively by 2015 and at 15, 40 and 45 per cent by 2021.
It also emphasised raising the admission rate for primary level education to 100 per cent by 2021 and freeing Bangladesh from illiteracy by 2014.
Besides, it also aims to reduce the number of people below the poverty line at 14 per cent by 2021, upgrading annual per capita electricity use to 600kwh, strengthening technology to build digital Bangladesh and facing the adverse effects of climate change.
Earlier, in 1995, the Planning Commission took an initiative to formulate a perspective plan (1995-2010) but the effort could not succeed.