Hiren Pandit: In the budget speech in the National Parliament, the Prime Minister said, to show a person who will selflessly work for the country. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, ‘Don’t be afraid of the clouds, the sun smiles behind them. The smile comes back in the dark. She said, ‘We hear a lot of things, today this government will throw it away. Tomorrow will do this, do that.’ ‘Today we got the status of a developing country, if Awami League does not come to power, who will implement it? Show me a person who can do that. Show a persons who will selflessly work for the country. We have no objection if you can show that kind of leadership.’ Bangladesh will become a developing country in 2026. Parliament Leader Sheikh Hasina thinks that Awami League needs to be brought to power in the next term to make a developing country. We need to develop the country as a developing country. So, we will appeal to the people that they have elected us again and again because we have been able to serve the country, we have been able to bring the country to this trend of development today, and we have been able to reduce the rate of poverty.
Referring to the economic crisis, she said that there are so many obstacles, resistance and criticism. Still, the government has been able to keep the wheels of the country’s economy moving. There is nothing to fear here. Problems arise from time to time. Do not be alarmed by this problem. It has to be dealt with.’ Expressing gratitude to the people, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, ‘We are able to manage the country and give this budget because they elected us in 2018. This budget is the 15th of our term and the last budget of the current term. Because the election should be held at the end of this year or in the first week of next year. So, this is our last budget.’ But the people of Bangladesh will decide whether it is the last or not. We are giving the responsibility of that decision to the people of Bangladesh.”
She highlighted various programs of the government to control inflation. She said, ‘In order to control inflation, austerity measures have been taken in the current financial year and in the next financial year as well. Import duty on essential commodities especially rice has been withdrawn. Regulatory duty has been reduced from 25 to 10 percent. The advance tax has been waived to reduce the price of diesel.
Awami League has been in power for almost fourteen and a half years under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu, and she is working for the welfare of the people. Sheikh Hasina has walked the path of history, no one is seen like this in contemporary history. A successor of Bangabandhu’s blood can save Awami League It became essential to keep Awami League united after the brutal assassination of Bangabandhu. It was necessary to sustain the existence of Awami League. Everyone knew that Sheikh Hasina did BCL politics during her student life. Eden was the VP of Girls’ College. She was on the streets during the six-point movement. Therefore, in the special council of the Awami League held in February 1981, Sheikh Hasina, who lived in exile in the capital of India, was made the president of the party.
Bangabandhu’s eldest child Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina was born on September 28, 1947 in Tungipara, Gopalganj. September 28 is a lunar moment for the people of this country. Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and a world leader, is the source of inspiration for the Bengali nation. Bangabandhu turned the Awami League into a popular grassroots political party. After his brutal murder, his exiled daughter Sheikh Hasina has taken the wheels as Awami League president as a symbol of unity in extremely difficult times. She has walked a long way in the struggle for democracy. She came back from the face of death again and again. She brought Awami League to power after 21 years as a popular party and is working tirelessly to institutionalize democracy. Awami League has always played a politically vocal, protesting role against all kinds of exploitation, deprivation, injustice, and oppression in any democratic movement of Bangladesh, starting from the independence movement of this country, along with the economic, social, political and cultural liberation of the people and is still doing so. People’s fortunes improve when this group is in power. The history of 74 years since the birth of this party bears the signature of that truth.
This initiative gave Sheikh Hasina an opportunity to unite the party. After 21 years with that united power, she won the 1996 election and brought the party to power for 21 years. Sheikh Hasina made the impossible possible by forming the government in 1996, bringing the murderers of her family to justice and later bringing the war criminals to justice. The opportunity came to carry forward the ideals of the Bengali nation. Bangabandhu’s daughter Sheikh Hasina started working as a path and path for the overall welfare, development, and liberation of the people of Bangladesh. She proved that she has no alternative to the development of democracy in Bangladesh. Sheikh Hasina’s integrity, devotion, rational mindset, strong morale, wisdom, and extraordinary leadership have established Bangladesh at a different height in the world arena and she is known as the leader of the world.
The world is amazed by Sheikh Hasina’s indomitable strength, courage, morale and strong leadership. Bangladesh is now the 35th largest economy and will become the 29th largest economy in the world by 2030 and the 23rd largest economy by 2050. In 2026, Bangladesh will debut in the world as a ‘middle income country’ and in 2041 as an ‘advanced smart Bangladesh’. The big proof that Bangladesh is moving forward is that the per capita income of the country’s people has increased over the past few years. Current per capita income is 2 thousand 765 dollars. Today, our beloved motherland Bangladesh is one of the top countries in the world in terms of economic progress.
The inauguration of Padma Bridge is a development milestone. Successfully combating corona pandemic, education, communication infrastructure, gas, electricity, women’s education, 100% increase in salary of employees, health care, distribution of free books, achieving self-sufficiency in food production, under social programs disadvantaged communities, destitute, elderly, widows, persons with disabilities, divorced, abused and victimized women, autism, providing assistance to destitute freedom fighters, shelter scheme, one house and one farm scheme, women empowerment and the overall development of various sectors has been played a major role by the government led by the Prime Minister. The role of electricity in the development of a country is undeniable. Persistent power shortages slowed the country’s progress. In other words, the long-standing electricity problem in the country, for which the previous governments could not provide any solution-the Awami League government brought to the doorsteps of the people by producing electricity at an excessive cost. This production is not only used for household purposes but also for other electricity-dependent means, which has made the wheels of the country’s economy move.
Bangladesh has already shown more efficiency than most of the countries in the world in dealing with the covid pandemic. The results of the Covid-19 index show that Bangladesh has done the best among the South Asian countries in dealing with the pandemic. Bangladesh ranks fifth in the world. With the same enthusiasm, the Prime Minister is fighting to save the people of the country from the problems of the war in Ukraine. The Prime Minister has already adopted strategies to increase austerity and agricultural production. Doing whatever is necessary to strengthen food security. Efforts are being made to further consolidate the social safety net to provide some relief from inflationary pressures. The government has undertaken various social protection programs including cheap food supply cards for crores of families, and selling food in the open market. Admittedly, the initiatives taken by the highest policy-making circles show timely sensitivity to the larger public demand; Some managerial challenges remain in implementing them at the field level. The rise in commodity prices has also created a fragile situation, but efforts are being made to overcome it. However, our leader is Sheikh Hasina, and we believe that we will be able to overcome these challenges gradually. The Prime Minister is urging us to implement the development program as best we can. There is no denying that, in the last 14 years, two and a half crore poor people have risen above the poverty line. Bangladesh has become a role model for poverty alleviation. Bangladesh is moving forward with a simultaneous emphasis on high growth and inclusion.
On the other hand, the revenue of the government has also increased. Although there are allegations of corruption almost everywhere, the biggest relief for the government is the agriculture sector and its management. In a populous country like ours, careful and judicious use of limited arable land is desirable. It happened in our country. As a result, import dependence on our agricultural products has been reduced to a large extent. Because of this agricultural revolution, the country of 170 million people has been made self-sufficient in food, which is a very positive aspect for the country. Today’s agricultural revolution is the invention of the Awami League.
The journey of Digital Bangladesh started with almost empty hands. In time it has reached the height of space today. Bangabandhu Satellite-1 is now a symbol of Bangladesh’s status. Every activity of daily life is affected by digital. The country is moving forward leaving behind many countries in the world in the use of information technology in the management of factories, businesses, and government. As a result, the people concerned think that the ‘Digital Bangladesh’ announced in the election manifesto of Awami League in 2008 is not a dream but a reality. The goal is now Smart Bangladesh. This year the budget has been given in the budget of 7 lakh 61 thousand 785 crores. About two crore people are directly and indirectly under the social safety net in the budget.
In 2008, the number of internet users in the country was only 8 lakh. Bandwidth usage then was 8 gigabytes per second (Gbps). According to the latest data from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), more than 13.5 million people use the Internet in the country. Among them, there are about 12.5 crore mobile phone users and about 1 crore internet users on broadband and PSTN. In 2008, the country had about 56 lakh mobile phone users. Now the number of active mobile SIMs in the country is 180.6 million. At that time there was a 2G mobile network in the country and now, after 3G and 4G, the 5G network has started this year and will be commercially launched in December. In 2008, the cost of internet bandwidth per Mbps was Tk. 78 thousand. Now it is only 60 taka. 772 remote areas have been brought under the coverage of internet services at the Union level through the fiber optic cable of the INFO government project and through Bangabandhu Satellite-1. As a result, people in remote areas have now become accustomed to mobiles and computers in everything from personal communication to business, agriculture, education, and health.
By sending its own satellite into space, Bangladesh reached a new height on May 12, 2018. Bangabandhu Satellite-1 was launched from Kennedy Space Center in the USA as well. Bangladesh is the 57th country in the world to launch its own satellite. In 2014, the government started installing another new satellite in the orbital spot rented from Russia’s Intersputnik. Bangabandhu Satellite-1 has 26 KU band and 14 C band transponders. All regions of the country, waters of the Bay of Bengal, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Philippines, and Indonesia are covered. A huge amount of foreign exchange is being saved every year due to the use of the Bangabandhu satellite in television channels and the DTH services of the country. Besides, some television channels in Honduras, Turkey, the Philippines, Cameroon and South Africa are using transponders. High-speed internet facilities are being provided in hilly, haor, and island areas of the country through this satellite. This satellite will work as an alternative even if the mobile network is down during major natural disasters.
Our main sources of revenue, especially foreign exchange earnings, are exports of manufactured garments and manpower. Although it started with private ownership, these two sectors have gained enough speed due to the interest of the government. As a result, the driving force of the country’s economy has gained momentum. Along with that, the unemployment problem of the country has been solved a lot. There are products that are exportable, which cannot be exported by private enterprises. In this regard, the government’s activity is worth seeing. Governments and employers still have a lot to do to make the garment manufacturing environment acceptable to foreign buyers.
When the World Bank canceled the allocation from the Padma Bridge, the Awami League government took it as a challenge. The government took the initiative to build the bridge with its own funding. The existence of the bridge is important to all of us now. This bridge is changing our economy. Over the past few years, the Awami League government has vowed to build infrastructure. Flyovers, underpasses, and Metrorail etc. have been constructed. The long-awaited and dreamed-of metro rail has been running since December 2022.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been praised in the international arena for taking various steps to ensure people’s health protection to save lives from the Covid-19 pandemic. The influential US magazine Forbes has praised various initiatives of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Following this, the World Economic Forum also praised the Prime Minister’s role.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been able to bring economic and social progress to Bangladesh by having the opportunity to rule the country for a long time. Its recognition is the UN SDG Progress Award 2021. She has received many recognitions from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Earlier, our country’s honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was selected as one of the three most successful and exemplary women heads of government in the Commonwealth of Nations.
Bangabandhu’s dream of building a Golden Bengal is being implemented by the Prime Minister with hard work and talent. With the hands of the world leader, this country will transform into a bright developed country like Singapore and Malaysia in a short time. Only Sheikh Hasina can build a developed, prosperous and peaceful Bengali nation and Bangladesh. She loved the country more than her children. Father’s unfinished work that needs to be completed. A non-sectarian, democratic, and future modern Bangladesh should be built. This is also the expectation of the new generation.
Hiren Pandit is a columnist and a Researcher