DHAKA, June 11, 2020 (BSS) – Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal today proposed allocating Taka 1,415 crore for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division in the budget for 2020-21 fiscal.
Tk 1,930 crore was allocated for ICT Division in the last 2019-2020 fiscal while Tk 1,192 was kept in the revised budget, according to the budget speech presented by the finance minister at the Jatiya Sangsad here today.
“In implementing the Vision 2021 to integrate the country with the trend of IT-driven global development in the 21st century, Bangladesh has set an example of commendable success over the last decade in areas of agriculture, education, health, human resource development and poverty alleviation,” Kamal said.
In continuation with this success, he said, installation of 18,975 km of optical fiber cable up to the union level, installation of wifi routers in 2,004 unions and connecting 1,483 unions with the Network Monitoring System have been completed upto June 2019 to ensure internet connection across the country.
A total of 5, 875 digital centers have been set up in unions, municipalities, city corporations and industrial areas and 150 different public-private services are being provided through these centers to reduce the digital divide and take the benefits of ICT to the marginal people, added the finance minister.
He said trainings on IT and ITS are being provided through countrywide 4, 184 Sheikh Russell Digital Labs and other projects to create skilled human resources with knowledge in technology.
Bangladesh National Digital Architecture Framework and a roadmap have been prepared to facilitate electronic exchange of data among the ministries, divisions, offices and agencies for implementing e-governance, he added.
“Steps have been taken to establish 28 Hi-Tech Parks, Software Technology Parks, IT Training and Incubation Centers in different parts of the country to facilitate the development of the ICT industry, out of which construction of 3 parks have been completed and construction of the 59 rest is in progress,” Kamal said.
He further said a piece of legislation named the Digital Security Act 2018 has been enacted, and as per provision made in the law, a new agency named the Digital Security Agency has been set up under the Information and Communication Technology Division to ensure and safeguard digital security in Bangladesh in the face of rising cyber risks around the world.
Above all, the finance minister said, a National Information and Communication Technology Policy 2018 was formulated in FY 2018-19, whereon an integrated action plan has been detailed out upon consultation with three stakeholders – the government, the private sector and the academia – to build a digital Bangladesh.