Bangladesh is advancing in ICT

Bangladesh is advancing in ICT : Bangladesh is fast advancing in the field of information technology. This change is coming with various government initiatives as well as various initiatives and efforts of the youth. The use of smartphones and internet is increasing in the country with their hands. Due to these reasons, different sectors of the country are changing rapidly.

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For example, in a remote area of Allaha Dargah in Kushtia district, a young man named Lemunuzzaman is setting up an institute for IT training. He said that he is taking initiative to teach various jobs like basic computer, graphics design, web development as information technology training in his area. Many young people like him are playing a special role in the development of the country’s IT sector.

Miguel Kararsko, Armenia’s BCG senior partner and global leader for digital government, recently said technology creates jobs. In the future, only 10 percent of the work will be computer programming, 20 percent will be technology. People will be needed for the remaining 80 percent. According to the Global Skills Index 2019 (GSI) of the online learning platform Coursera, Bangla-desh is doing well in terms of operating skills, software engineering in terms of technical skills. The list highlights the performance of countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Bangla-desh. The index shows that 90 percent of developing economies are now lagging behind or at risk of acquiring critical skills. In this case, Bangla-desh is doing well in terms of technical skills.

In the face of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Bangla-desh’s information -technology sector has emphasized on various infrastructural developments, including the development of skilled human resources. Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Information and Communication Technology, said at the launch of the e-Government Master Plan report at the ICT Tower in the capital, “Bangla-desh will be among the top 50 countries in the UN e-Governance Development Index in the next five years by expanding and improving digital services.” We are now ranked 115th in the National Index of e-Governance. In the next five years, we will improve by 50 steps to double digits, our goal. We started our journey for Digital Bangla-desh 10 years ago. Then many people did not understand what is digital Bangla-desh? But in a short time we have proved them wrong. Digital Bangla-desh is no longer a dream, it is real. What you are seeing today is a little bit of digital Bangla-desh. We have done a lot more and will continue to do so. ‘

Praise for Bangla-desh’s advancement in information- technology is already coming from all over the world. James Pogents, Secretary General of the World Information- Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA), an international organization in the field of information- technology, said WITSA has chosen Dhaka for the World Conference because Bangla-desh is doing well in IT and attaches great importance to it. Bangla-desh has Vision 2021, through which it is moving forward in ICT. The key to any country’s success is leadership. Bangla-desh has it.

Progress rate clear:

It is becoming clear that Bangladesh is moving ahead in the development of information- technology. In 2014, Bangla-desh was ranked for the first time in the Global Service Location Index (GSLI) by AT Carney, a world-renowned management consulting firm. Bangla-desh ranks 32 out of 50 countries in this list.

According to the government’s information- technology department, Bangla-desh has been gaining international recognition in information- technology for several years as a result of various effective initiatives. Among them, Bangladesh has received several prestigious recognitions including ITU Award, South South Award, Gartner and AT Carney. However, more emphasis needs to be placed on industry development. For this reason, various initiatives including e-governance have to be taken along with the IT industry. This will expand the local market for local companies.

The impression of the Progress:

The amazing advancement of technology in the country has been visible for a decade. In the meantime, Bangladesh’s first satellite in space, including a few major acquisitions have taken Bangladesh to a different height. Bangladesh has earned a respectable place in the world of technology. The name of the biggest surprise is the beginning of progress as ‘Digital Bangladesh’. The Department of Information and Communication Technology has been working on several aspects of the implementation of Digital Bangladesh. Those aspects are: (a) connectivity and ICT infrastructure (b) human resource development (c) development of ICT industry (d) establishment of e-governance and others. Experts are calling this development and progress based on information technology as a digital renaissance. What the Department of Information and Communication Technology is doing: Increasing the number of ICT professionals to 20 million by 2021, ensuring earning of 5 billion in ICT revenue and contributing 5 percent to GDP.

Lifestyle changes :

Along with the concept of Digital Bangladesh, it has also had a big impact on people’s lives. The big change has come with the introduction of ride sharing services like Uber-Pathao. In this case, as employment has increased, so has the travel benefits of many. Increasing the number of smartphone users has also created new entrepreneurs.

The first satellite Bangabandhu-1:

Satellite Bangabandhu-1 launched from the launching pad of the John Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on May 11 last year at 2:14 pm Bangladesh time (local time 4:14 pm) in Florida, USA on the back of a Falcon 9 rocket. After that, the country’s first satellite (Bangabandhu-1) was placed at 119.9 degrees of the equator after crossing 36,000 kilometers. And this is another important achievement in the list of achievements and in the progress of Bangladesh in the field of information -technology. After the satellite went into space, broadcasting activities were carried out in the country on an experimental basis. Six months after the launch, the satellite was handed over to the Bangladesh government by Thales Alenia Space Company of France on November 9 at 5 pm.

Made in Bangladesh:

The country’s first computer manufacturing plant was set up at Walton’s Hi-Tech and Microtech Industries Park in Chandra, Gazipur to increase the use of domestic products by reducing imports from abroad. Posts, Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar and State Minister for Information -echnology Junaid Ahmed Palak inaugurated the factory. High-quality laptops, desktop monitors, and other technology products are made here. In all, there are about 1000 workers in the factory including local and foreign engineers. Initially, they aim to produce 60,000 laptops, 30,000 desktops, and 30,000 monitors per month. At the beginning, the investment was around 1 thousand crore rupees. A huge sacrifice of computer assembly and production has been organized in this huge factory of 3 lakh square feet. The factory is self-contained with laptop and desktop design development, research and development department, quality control department, and testing lab. The equipment brought to the factory is of German and Japanese technology. Laptops made in this factory have already started exporting to Africa with the tag ‘Made in Bangladesh’. Besides, various companies have started mobile assembly factories in the country. Made in Bangladesh activities have started. Recently, the Digital Device and Innovation Expo were organized. There, homemade robots and startups showcase their innovations.

4G & 5G :

One of the achievements of Bangladesh in the field of telecommunications is to enter the era of the fourth-generation mobile networks (Four-G). The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has officially handed over the licenses of fourth-generation (Forge) telecommunication services to four mobile phone operators after various speculations. Within a short time of getting the license, the operators started their official activities by launching Four-G network in certain places. It also promises to spread it across the country in a very short time. An announcement has also been made to open Five-G technology in the country.

ICT Infrastructure development:

The Department of Information and Communication Technology has implemented Bangla Gov and Info Sarkar-2 projects to establish connectivity up to the upazila level across the country. As a result, 57 ministries of the government, 228 departments, offices of deputy commissioners of 64 districts and 16,500 government offices of districts and upazilas have come under the network. Video conferencing systems, 254 Agriculture Information and Communication Centers (AICCs) and 25 telemedicine centers have been set up in 600 government offices. 25,000 tabs have been distributed among government officials so that they can perform their official duties smoothly even from outside the office.

Datacenter:

The capacity of the existing national datacenter of Bangladesh Computer Council has been increased to 650 terabytes. A specialized lab and a special sound effects lab have been set up under the BCC’s LICT project to create skilled manpower with higher training in information technology. In addition, equipment has been provided for the establishment of specialized labs in 20 public universities.

Hi-Tech Park:

The infrastructure development work of Kaliakair Hi-Tech Park has been started as a memorable event in the field of information and communication technology. The decision to build a high-tech park in Kaliakair was taken at the 12th meeting of the Board of Investment chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 1999. But due to the lack of continuity of the government and the complexity of the case, the construction of a high-tech park in Kaliakair and the establishment of a software technology park at Janata Tower in Karwan Bazar came to a near standstill. All obstacles have been removed in the construction of Kaliakair Hi-Tech Park and Janata Software Technology Park in Gazipur. Activities have started at Kaliakair Hi-Tech Park and Sheikh Hasina Hi-Tech Park in Khulna. Work is underway to set up IT Business Incubator at Sylhet Electronic City, Barindra Silicon City in Rajshahi, IT Training and Incubation Center in Natore and IT Business Incubator in CUET.

Human Resource Development:

Human resource development is the cornerstone of Digital Bangladesh and in this development 34,000 people through the Leveraging ICT for Growth, Employment and Governance (LICT) project and 55,000 people under the Learning and Learning Development project have been provided basic ICT, top-up and futures training activities. There are. 3,026 from BKICT, 4,961 at home and abroad under the Support to Development of Kaliakair Hi-Tech Park project under the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority and 14,750 under the ‘Big People at Home’ program with basic ICT, skill enhancement and freelance training. Done.

Data digitization:

The government has taken initiatives to digitize various types of information and services to bring information and services to the doorsteps of the people. As part of this, 600 mobile applications have been created. The apps are in the Google Play Store. Every day a huge number of people are using these mobile applications for their own needs. In addition, the government has taken the initiative to digitize the judicial activities that have been going on for more than 200 years. To this end, the Department of Information and Communication Technology and the Department of Justice have jointly undertaken a project titled ‘Assistance in Digitalization of the Judicial System of Bangladesh’. An awareness program has been implemented to prevent cyber harassment and a helpline has also been launched under this program.

Startup culture:

Startups have already been launched in the country. The cabinet has given in-principle approval to Startup Bangladesh Limited, a state-owned venture capital company. Once the company is established, a maximum of Rs 1 crore can be invested in the seed stage and Rs 5 crore in the growth guided startup round in terms of startup valuation Startup Bangladesh Limited will play a key role in creating a sustainable startup ecosystem in Bangladesh as the first state-owned venture capital company and will take the implementation of the government’s Vision-2021 one step further. The Idea Project, implemented by the Bangladesh Computer Council under the Department of Information and Communication Technology, has been working since 2016 under the direction of Sajeeb Wazed, Information and Communication Technology Adviser to the Prime Minister, to build a startup culture in Bangladesh. Grants have already been given to hundreds of startup companies.

E-Governance:

In the age of modern information- technology, many developing countries like Bangladesh are giving utmost importance to the ICT sector to overcome their poverty, administrative complexity, slow pace of economic development, etc. Various steps have been taken to bring ICT expansion and use within the reach of the public. In addition, developed countries have already been able to achieve the desired improvement in all their fields through the successful use and application of ICT. The government has established e-governance at all levels of administration to ensure transparency and accountability in government work by providing information exchange links between the central and local administrations, and to provide better public services.

Facebook and Freelancing:

According to the BBC, there are more than 6 crore Facebook users in the country. F-commerce or Facebook-based business has developed. Apart from this, a large part of the IT sector in Bangladesh is freelancer. There are about six and a half lakh freelancers in the country. Outside of this are the entrepreneurs in the software sector. The sector is earning more than one billion US dollars. Another major advancement in the IT sector has been the inclusion of women in information- technology. Besides, e-commerce and F-commerce sectors are expanding in the country. The presence of women entrepreneurs on social media Facebook is increasing. According to the E-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (E-CAB), shopping is now going on in about 20,000 Facebook pages in the country. Of these, 12,000 pages are run by women. Using Facebook as a medium, women are becoming entrepreneurs with little capital. According to e-Cab, the e-commerce sector has witnessed a turnover of Tk 1,500 crore in the last one year. Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), the only organization in the software sector in the country, has 1,200 member companies. Of these, 80 companies have shares and women entrepreneurs are on the company’s board. Business process outsourcing or BPO is one of the sectors in the country’s information- technology. At least 35,000 young people are working in the sector. In order to stay ahead of the youth of Bangladesh at this time of the fourth industrial revolution, we have to focus on learning modern subjects like AI, machine learning, big data. Bangladesh’s resources are young manpower. If they are proficient in information -technology, Bangladesh will move forward. The position of the country in this sector will be stronger. However, there are some challenges in this case. Freelancers have long demanded the introduction of PayPal to bring in money from abroad. No progress has been made in this sector yet. There is also the demand for low cost high speed internet in remote areas. Even if the price of broadband internet goes down, its benefits at the consumer level need to be ensured. “The success we are seeing in ICT is a sign that we are looking forward to the future,” said Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi at the closing ceremony of the recent Digital Device and Expo in the country.

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