Eleven more government services related to doing business in the country will be integrated into the online 'One Stop Service' (OSS) of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) by June next.
With the new ones, the number of government services available with the OSS will rise to 29.
The new services include security clearance, electricity connection, issuance & renewal of export-import certificate and issuance of land use clearance.
On Wednesday, BIDA signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with five government agencies that will provide the services.
The five state agencies are Security Services Division (SSD) under the Ministry of Home Affairs, office of the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports (CCI&E), Chattogram Development Authority (CDA), Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO) and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB).
BIDA Executive Chairman Md Sirazul Islam presided over the signing ceremony held at a city hotel, organised by BIDA in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Chief Controller of CCI&E Pranesh Ranjan Sutradhar, Joint Secretary to the SSD Md Munim Hassan, CDA Secretary Tahera Ferdous Begum, BPDB Secretary Saiful Islam Azad and Deputy General Manager of DESCO SM Zamil Hussain signed the MoUs on behalf of their respective organisations.
BIDA Executive Member AKM Dinarul Islam and its Director Jibon Krishna Saha Roy signed the deal on behalf of the state-run investment promoting agency.
The OSS, a single window platform, makes it possible for investors to get approvals and certifications just by visiting BIDA's online portal without going to different offices physically.
Speaking on the occasion, BIDA Executive Chairman Sirazul Islam said there is no alternative to embracing information technology for faster delivery of services and establishing a investment- friendly climate in Bangladesh.
"BIDA is dedicated to providing an effective and efficient OSS as part of its overall efforts to simplify the processes investors must follow to do business in Bangladesh," he said.
The OSS will help attract more foreign and local investment by reducing time and costs for the investors, he added.
He expressed the hope that continuous development of the OSS will help Bangladesh improve in the ranking of 'Ease of Doing Business' (EoDB) index prepared by the World Bank (WB).
The BIDA official also stressed the need for reforming some laws and policy frameworks to bolster investment climate.
"We need to amend some laws, including bankruptcy act, company law and arbitration act, to achieve a desired position in the 'Ease of Doing Business' index," he said, adding that BIDA has already made proposals to the agencies concerned in this regard.
Bangladesh ranked 168th, out of 190 countries, in the EoDB 2020 index published in October last year.
BIDA launched its online OSS in February 2019.
Once it becomes fully functional, a total of 154 services from 35 government agencies will be available with the OSS.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
