Govt to finalise draft 5-yr plan by mid-Dec
Sunday, 5 December 2010
FHM Humayan Kabir
The government would finalise the draft five-year plan by the middle of this month, revising some macro-economic indicators in line with the Finance Ministry's upward resources income projection, officials said Saturday.
Planning Ministry officials said they have taken the move to recast the sixth five-year plan, as the Finance Ministry has recently sent them a fresh resources income projection.
"Finance Ministry has recently given us a new projection of upward local and foreign resources income. Based on it there can be some minor changes at the macro-economic indicators in the drafted five-year plan," member of General Economics Division (GED) under the Planning Ministry Prof Shamsul Alam told the FE.
"We will sit with the Finance Ministry and National Board of Revenue (NBR) later this week to review the projection and finalise the macro-economic indicators for the draft development document."
"Then we will discuss with top government policymakers within this month to finalise the country's sixth development plan," Prof Alam added.
The GED has already prepared the sixth five-year plan in a bid to slash the country's poverty by 10 per cent and boost the national economy at an average rate of 7.3 per cent during its five year implementation period up to FY 2015.
Planning Ministry officials said the country's development plan also targets to raise the number of people engaged in industrial jobs by eight per cent from the present 17 per cent of the population within its final implementation period of June 2015.
The government last year decided to reinstate the five-year development plan of Bangladesh from the FY 2010-11 after eight years of discontinuation since 2002.
The GED has been assigned with the task of framing the document, which would guide the government agencies on continuing development works in the next five year.
A panel of economists, headed by senior economist Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud, has been assisting the government to devise the national development plan. A steering committee, led by Planning Minister A K Khondaker, is working to monitor its preparation works.
A senior Planning Ministry official said the development plan would facilitate poverty alleviation from present 36 per cent to 26 per cent, and upgrade the industrial employment from current 17 per cent of the population to 25 per cent.
He said: "We are targeting to boost the per capita income of the country to US$1,000 by the year 2015."
In the draft report, the Planning Ministry has set a goal to achieve cent per cent literacy rate by the FY 2015. Since Bangladesh's electricity coverage is very low in the sub-continent, the plan also aims to bring cent per cent of the population under electricity coverage by 2021. The ailing tele-density of the country would also be raised to 70 per cent by the FY 2015.
GED member Prof Shamsul Alam said the proposed sixth five-year plan would be different from the previous five five-year plans.
"The document will not only consist the development plans, it will also have some policy guidelines for boosting the country's economy and making the nation a hunger-free one," he said.
The five-year plan which would be followed for the country's development between the FY 2011 and FY 2015 would be finalised in line with the election manifesto of the Awami League-led government.
The government would finalise the draft five-year plan by the middle of this month, revising some macro-economic indicators in line with the Finance Ministry's upward resources income projection, officials said Saturday.
Planning Ministry officials said they have taken the move to recast the sixth five-year plan, as the Finance Ministry has recently sent them a fresh resources income projection.
"Finance Ministry has recently given us a new projection of upward local and foreign resources income. Based on it there can be some minor changes at the macro-economic indicators in the drafted five-year plan," member of General Economics Division (GED) under the Planning Ministry Prof Shamsul Alam told the FE.
"We will sit with the Finance Ministry and National Board of Revenue (NBR) later this week to review the projection and finalise the macro-economic indicators for the draft development document."
"Then we will discuss with top government policymakers within this month to finalise the country's sixth development plan," Prof Alam added.
The GED has already prepared the sixth five-year plan in a bid to slash the country's poverty by 10 per cent and boost the national economy at an average rate of 7.3 per cent during its five year implementation period up to FY 2015.
Planning Ministry officials said the country's development plan also targets to raise the number of people engaged in industrial jobs by eight per cent from the present 17 per cent of the population within its final implementation period of June 2015.
The government last year decided to reinstate the five-year development plan of Bangladesh from the FY 2010-11 after eight years of discontinuation since 2002.
The GED has been assigned with the task of framing the document, which would guide the government agencies on continuing development works in the next five year.
A panel of economists, headed by senior economist Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud, has been assisting the government to devise the national development plan. A steering committee, led by Planning Minister A K Khondaker, is working to monitor its preparation works.
A senior Planning Ministry official said the development plan would facilitate poverty alleviation from present 36 per cent to 26 per cent, and upgrade the industrial employment from current 17 per cent of the population to 25 per cent.
He said: "We are targeting to boost the per capita income of the country to US$1,000 by the year 2015."
In the draft report, the Planning Ministry has set a goal to achieve cent per cent literacy rate by the FY 2015. Since Bangladesh's electricity coverage is very low in the sub-continent, the plan also aims to bring cent per cent of the population under electricity coverage by 2021. The ailing tele-density of the country would also be raised to 70 per cent by the FY 2015.
GED member Prof Shamsul Alam said the proposed sixth five-year plan would be different from the previous five five-year plans.
"The document will not only consist the development plans, it will also have some policy guidelines for boosting the country's economy and making the nation a hunger-free one," he said.
The five-year plan which would be followed for the country's development between the FY 2011 and FY 2015 would be finalised in line with the election manifesto of the Awami League-led government.