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
Proposed industrial policy aims at skills uplift
May set target to boost sector’s GDP contribution by 5 percentage points
Over the past three decades, the industrial sector’s contribution to economy has increased due to the expansion of export-oriented sectors, particularly garments. Star/file Star Business Report Star Business Report
The upcoming industrial policy will set a target to increase the industrial sector s economic contribution from the existing 35 per cent to 40 per cent of the country s gross domestic product, according to a draft industrial policy.
The new policy is expected to focus on the IT sector in order to help industries improve their efficiency and productivity, it said.
Inflation drops to 8.5yr low Star Business Report Star Business Report
Inflation dropped to 5.02 per cent in January, the lowest in eight and a half years, on the back of the arrival of winter vegetables that contributed to the consumer price decline, official figures showed yesterday.
This is the third straight month of overall consumer price decline.
In December, inflation, a measure of changes in the prices of a basket of commodities and services, was 5.29 per cent, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
A decline in the price of non-food items also contributed to the fall in the overall inflation, easing pressure on the wallets of consumers. A large number of the population, especially the poor and low-income groups, still suffer for the high price of coarse rice.
Staff Correspondent,
bdnews24.com
Published: 04 Feb 2021 09:50 PM BdST
Updated: 04 Feb 2021 09:50 PM BdST
The government has declared the six sectors tannery, ceramic, glass, ship re-cycling and export-oriented leather, silk and footwear free from child labour. );
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State Minister for Labour Monnujan Sufian made the announcement during a press conference held at the Shrama Bhaban in Dhaka on Thursday.
A large number of children, however, are still working at undervest factories in Keraniganj, she said.
The ministry will ask the district administration to take initiative to stop child labour there, the state minister said.
“Child labour must be stopped in Keraniganj,” she said.
Have you noticed the companies making headlines frequently during the pandemic? Some have gone under; in a way nobody could forecast before. Some have risen from the ashes, with ideas nobody seemed to believe in. With Elon Musk becoming the richest person on earth surpassing Jeff Bezos in January 2021, traditional business practices are proving to be inefficient and why not? We don t work the way we did before. We re trying to put every extra hour into getting more work done in a day, thanks to work from home. Odd hours are now working hours for some. While the nature of work has become remote and easy to attend to, the pandemic has made it equally difficult for jobs to stay around. This is resulting in a polarization between increased productivity and decreased retention of the workforce. People who generally work hard are working harder, and people who want work are wanting harder. This signifies a loss of capacity and efficiency that will cost a generation its flight.