THE PROSPECTS AND THE PROBLEMS OF BANGLADESH…

PROSPECTS OF BANGLADESH

PROSPECT OF IT IN BANGLADESH : At present Information Technology (IT) is a subject of

widespread interest in Bangladesh. There are around 100 software houses, 35 data entry centre’s, thousands of formal and informal IT training centre’s and numerous computer shops. The Government has declared IT as a thrust sector and that computer training centre will be set up in each divisional and district headquarters of Bangladesh. Import of computer hardware and software is now duty free, High Speed Digital Data Network has been introduced. One fourth of the 45 recommendations of JRC report on software export has already been implemented; rest is in the process of implementation. A tremendous activity is going on in every sector including e-commerce, e-governance, computer networking, Internet, web browsing, web applications, multimedia product development etc. 

TOURISM MARKETING A NEW PROSPECT FOR BANGLADESH Tourism is one of the fastest growing and single largest

industries in the world. The contribution of tourism industry in the global as well as individual perspective is really amazing. Many countries in the world depend upon tourism as a main source of foreign exchange earnings.

According to the World Tourist Organization (WTO), while 448.5 million tourists moved throughout the world during the year 1991

The increasing trend of tourist arrivals and earnings is continuing. In 2005, the world tourist arrivals rose to 808 million. The World Tourism 2020 Vision forecasted that this figure will be 1,006.4 million in 2010 and the same will reach to 1,561.1 million in 2020. This continued growth in tourism business through out the world is encouraging and nations are becoming more concern to attract more tourists to their own destinations and trying to promoting this sector as a major source for the economic development of the nation.

HANDICRAFTS AND TEXTILE HANDICRAFT Handicrafts and Textile Handicraft business is related

to the accumulation of handmade product from over the country and to sell them in retail shops or to export in another countries. People have a great passion for this type of product because it contains flavour of culture and it has a variety of design.

Handicraft sector in Bangladesh is comprises with small manufacturing units and mostly located in rural areas, operated either by the owner themselves or with the assistance of a small work force of 10-20 people. Most enterprises use traditional techniques with or without the use of tools or simple instruments.

FLASHBACK OF BANGLADESH’S HANDICRAFT INDUSTRY- After 1970, Bangladesh’s handicraft product was introduced in

the market. And in 80s the product got market acceptance, and this became its growth period. In the 90s, the handicraft products of Bangladesh experienced a slow growth, and it is the maturity period of the product. After 2000, the sales of product decreased because of its old design and poor quality. Moreover, new competitors came with newly-designed, innovative and quality product. As a result, Bangladesh’s handicraft product faced a period of decline

In our country the handicrafts are mainly regulated by non-technical persons who possess very little technical knowledge and there is no involvement of textile engineers (thus product development and quality product is quite impossible). The workers are mainly un-skilled women and children. We can develop this sector as a wide earning sector to contribute to our national economy by involving Textile Experts in this sector and by developing manpower skill. Finally it should be helpful to introduce our tradition or culture to the globe. 

PROSPECTS OF BANGLADESH AS A LEADING OUTSOURCING DESTINATION :

IT industry is becoming popular for the workers who want to do perform offshore or freelance job in business. World’s leading researchers have announced Bangladesh as a leading outsourcing destination. Bangladesh is prospecting with IT outsourcing in regard of human resources, financial and political stability, macro and micro level infrastructure and market positioning with a huge competition

Outsourcing has been one of the very delicious terms within various industries doing outperformance in their business. Bangladesh is a small country but within its limitations it has also reached a scale of achievement as an outsourcing target. Especially IT industry in Bangladesh has been one of the most attractive targets to the foreign outsourcing organizations seeming for several years.

The New York based global banking securities and investment management firm Goldman Sachs has included Bangladesh in 'Next Eleven' after BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations.

This is what discussed mostly in the seminars on outsourcing and off shoring during eASiA 2011. Bangladesh has placed itself within the top 30 outsourcing destinations as a research of Gartner Inc. (eASiA, 2011). This also represents the demand of Bangladesh’s works among the outsourcing market. As it is mentioned Govt. is putting the maximum tax facilities in this industry and there outsourcers from abroad are making the benefit of spending less in any work from Bangladesh. Not only SMEs, individual offshore workers and freelancers are also getting benefitted with this. Currently more than 100 organizations are exporting software and outsourcing to more than 30 countries (Barkatullah, 2011) and many are coming into this industry. In the last five years Bangladesh faced an average rate of growth at about 40% in IT and ITES industry (Chowdhury, 2011)

In aspect of these above, Bangladeshi freelancers are also performing well. In 2010, Bangladeshi freelancers have earned about US$7 million (Rahman, 2012)

According to EPB, Govt. of Bangladesh (2012) total IT and ITES exports from Bangladesh has been increased about 24% from 2008 to 2011. This is a great sign to us that if we try to develop ourselves, we will be the top of the rankings as an outsourcing destination

PROSPECT OF PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES IN BANGLADESH :   The roots of the pharmaceutical industry lie back as far back as the

middle ages. But the industry as we understand it today really has its origins in the second half of the 19th century.

The chemical industries (of the late nineteenth century) in the upper Rhine Valley of Switzerland. The drag store was opened by Arabian Pharmacists in Baghdad in 754 and many more was opened in Islamic country and Europe .

 Arabian pharmacists opened the first documented drugstore Pharmaceutical Industry has grown in Bangladesh in the last two

decades at a considerable rate. The sector consistently creates job opportunities for qualified people. Like all other sectors in Bangladesh, the pharmaceutical industry was much neglected during Pakistan regime. Most multinational companies had their production facilities in West Pakistan. For several years after liberation, the government could not increase budgetary allocations for the health sector. Millions of people had little access to essential life saving medicines.

In 1981, there were 166 licensed pharmaceutical manufacturers in the country. But in spite of having 166 local pharmaceutical production units, the country had to spend nearly Tk 300 million on importing finished medicine products.

 In 2000, there were 261 unani, 161 Ayurveda, 76 homeopathic and biochemical licensed manufacturing units. They produced medicines worth Tk 1.2 billion in 2000.

Contribution of pharmaceutical industries to GDP of Bangladesh *exports medicines worth $60 million.

The Turnover rate of MR is very high Cost of marketing hardly affect the price of the medicine Professionalism in marketing is not achieved yet in Bangladesh Effect of globalization has increased the competition. Unstable political situation and different types of violence 

 It will let Bangladesh enter into the global market and thus will increase the production a great deal. Like India & other competitor countries, bank loan interest rates should be reduced for this industry. If these recommendations can be implemented, the Pharmaceutical Industry of Bangladesh will be able to shine in its true sense.

PROSPECTS OF AGRICULTURE IN BANGLADESH Bangladesh is one of the least developed

countries in the World. The great majority  of  its people depend on agriculture for earning their living. Despite planned efforts by the government to increase agricultural productivity for more than three decades.

BANGLADESH'S GROWTH PROSPECT 2ND HIGHEST IN SAARC : Bangladesh's growth prospect is the second

highest among the eight-nation SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) region, according to the latest report of the World Bank.

Only India is ahead of Bangladesh in the chart of the WB's report, which observed that the SAARC region would maintain its lead as the fastest-growing region in the world, with economic growth forecasted to accelerate from 7.0 percent in 2015 to 7.4 percent in 2016.

PROSPECTS OF MOBILE BANKING IN BANGLADESH

E-business has been continuously growing as a new industry during the last decade (Van Hoeck, 2001). The banking industry has been leading this trend in recent years, and now all banking transactions completing through internet applications is sometimes called e-banking .

E-banking has revolutionized the way business is transacted by globalizing the business enterprise.

Mobile Banking is a Banking process without bank branch which provides financial services to unbaked communities efficiently and at affordable cost. The aim of the service is to bring more people under the umbrella of banking service. Bangladesh Bank governor Dr Atiur Rahman inaugurated the service through deposit and withdrawal of money from two banking outlets in the city. Government thinks it has a great prospect as it is a new technology in digital Bangladesh. But in Bangladesh many people think traditionally, because they cannot think it has any facility to use mobile banking. 69% people feel mobile banking has prospect in Bangladesh whereas 31% think it has no prospect in Bangladesh as many people will not feel interest or have belief on mobile banking.

PROBLEMS OF BANGLADESH

Social problem is an unexpected situation

which hinders to lead normal life in a society  Social problem are created by various

reasons. Social problems of Bangladesh and its

remediesBangladesh is attacked by various social problems. The main problems are over population, poverty, unemployment, crime, juvenile delinquency, corruption, lack of nutrition, prostitution, beggary and vagabond problem, dowry and women repression, lack of proper distribution of wealth, divorce, mental illness, mentally disability problem, lack of security, drug addition, lack of sound health, etc.

POPULATION PROBLEMS :  Overpopulation is not simply a

function of the number or density o the individuals but rather the number of individuals compared to the resources (i.e. food production ) they need to survive. In other words, it is the ratio of population divided by resources.

CRIME Crime is doing something forbidden by

low. That could mean stealing a mobile phone, vandalism, graffiti mugging, stealing or taking and selling drugs. Antisocial behaviour is criminalised and treated as offences against society which justifies punishment by the government

DOWRY SYSTEM A dowry is a gift of money or valuables

given by the dries family that of the groom at the time of their marriage . In societies where payment of dowry is common , unmarried women are seen to attract stigma and tarnish their family reputation , so it is in the brides family’s interest to marry off their daughter as soon as she is eligible.

CHALLENGES FACING THE CHILDREN OF BANGLADESH

Twenty-six million children live below the national poverty line, typically deprived of four out of seven of the following basic services: water, sanitation, nutrition, education, health, information, and shelter.

Bangladesh has one of the highest rates of child-marriage in the world. 66 per cent of women (aged 20 to 24) were married before they turned 18.

Thirteen per cent of children are involved in child labour. Child labourer’s are frequently denied an education and are vulnerable to violence and abuse.

Bangladesh has one of the lowest rates of birth registration in the world. This makes it difficult to protect children from trafficking, child labour and child marriage.

PROBLEM OF POVERTY:

With a per capita income of about $200 in 1991, Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world. More than half the population-50 million people--live in poverty. The most vulnerable groups include small farmers, landless rural laborers, and workers in the urban informal sector . Health care, nutrition, and education standards are low, especially among women and children

ROAD ACCIDENT

Developing countries are experiencing very serious road safety problems and Bangladeshis one of these countries. Nearly 80 percent of road deaths are in the age group of 5-45 years which havesignificant economic and societal impacts.Latest studies revealed that there are 10000-12000 deaths fromroad traffic injuries each year in Bangladesh, nearly 25 percent occurring in the urban areas. 

THE WATER & SANITATION CRISIS : Bangladesh’s water crisis affects both rural and

urban areas, and is a matter of both water scarcity and water quality. While Bangladesh has made commendable progress in supplying safe water to its people, gross disparity in coverage still exists across the country. Latrine usage is very poor, averaging only 16% in the rural areas. Diarrheal diseases constitute a major health problem in Bangladesh, killing over 100,000 children each year. Thousands of episodes of diarrhea occur in children and adults each day. Diarrheal diseases have close biological and socio-economic links to the problems of malnutrition, poor maternal health, high fertility, and child survival.

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION OF BANGLADESH :

Pollution has become the first enemy of the mankind. Industrial revolution of 19th century led to environmental disaster. The whole world is now more afraid of pollution rather than nuclear blast. Technological advancement has brought revolutionary changes in life style and national economy with overwhelming power over nature. The protection of environment has become a major issue around the global for the well being of the people and economic development.

The End .