Today, much of the promise of Digital Bangladesh is bringing tangible benefits to citizens, especially the underserved, rural poor. I ended by briefly touching upon 2041, the ultimate goal, when Bangladesh intends to become the prosperous, developed, poverty-free, and equitable nation of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s dreams. I tried to explain what it was, who it was for, and what it would become. Last year, on Digital Bangladesh Day, in a Dhaka Tribune op-ed, I attempted to dispel the myths surrounding the term. There is no doubting the fact that the astounding quadrupling of the country’s GDP per capita and improvement in service delivery (demonstrated by a savings of $11.22 billion and 9.26 billion workdays by citizens) during this time have been greatly facilitated by digital adoption in all departments of the government and almost every sphere of the society.ĭuring Covid-19 lockdowns, Digital Bangladesh played a key role in ensuring service continuity in healthcare and education, commerce and trade, social safety net payments for the new poor, grievance redress and whatever else you can imagine. The direct implementation guidance of Digital Bangladesh comes from its architect Sajeeb Wazed, the ICT Advisor to the PM, while the Minister of State for ICT, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, MP, maintains relentless monitoring and sleepless delegation. Starting with utter disbelief and steady ridicule by naysayers, and yet undaunting conviction by a few, Bangladesh, a technologically-backward country, has clearly made a remarkable journey towards mass digitization. On the Digital Bangladesh Day of the Digital Bangladesh Year, we must ask ourselves as we imagine our country in 2041.ĭigital Bangladesh held the imagination of the entire country for the last 13 years since our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s clarion call on Decemas part of the Awami League’s election manifesto. Will “digital” be a novelty in 2041, our target year to become a high-income nation? Will the “digital” focus be enough to galvanize collective action to take us past the middle-income trap and be equitably prosperous, leaving no one behind? What will Bangladesh look like in 2041? This is the first part of a two-part special that concludes on December 19
The Blog was first published in The Dhaka Tribune Click here to read the original publication. By Anir Chowdhury,Policy Advisor of a2i in ICT Division and Cabinet Division supported by UNDP.
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