National / World
India, Bâdesh must boost people to people contact and focus on small local issues across border
Fri, Mar 05 2021 02:05:12 PM
By Mahua Venkatesh
New Delhi, Mar 5: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi s visit to Dhaka, a Bangladeshi think-tank has flagged practical grassroots projects to advance the special relationship. Prime Minister Modi s visit is part of celebrations marking 50 years of the liberation of Bangladesh. The focus between the two countries typically has always been on big issues, but there is a need to prioritise local issues which may not hit headlines but impact the daily lives of the people living in the border areas. These small initiatives can have a far reaching impact in building a stable relationship between India and Bangladesh, says Nazneen Ahmed, Senior Research Fellow, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) in a conversation with India Narrative.
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Poverty is a multifaceted economic phenomenon. Although dealing with the causes of poverty in Bangladesh is complex, the country has nonetheless shown impressive improvements and resilience over the years. Before the coronavirus crisis, the number of extreme poor people was falling gradually. According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data, the poverty rate came down to around 20 percent in 2019 from 56.6 percent in 1990. The rate was around 75 percent in 1971. But now the picture is changing due to Covid-19, the number of jobless people has increased drastically and income has fallen significantly in recent times. In an August 2020 report, the BBS revealed that between July 2019 and June 2020, the national poverty rate rose by 9 percent (from 20.5 percent to 29.5 percent). The South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) forecasted that the rate would increase to 40.9 percent. Meanwhile, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) projected that Covid-19 could pus