Motorcycles kept at a Bangladeshi showroom. -File Photo
The government has set a target of creating a total of 15 lakh job opportunities in the motorcycle industry by 2027 with the expansion of the sector."The target has been fixed to increase the direct and indirect employments in the motorcycle sector from the existing 5 lakh to 15 lakh by 2027," Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam said yesterday.
He was briefing journalists at Bangladesh Secretariat on the outcome of a weekly cabinet meeting that approved a policy -- 'Motorcycle Shilpa Unnayan Neetimala-2018' - aiming at manufacturing world-class motorcycles in the country.
Shafiul Alam said the policy was aimed at promoting the local motorcycle industry and export of motorcycle to the international market. The policy has a target to increase production of local motorcycle to five lakh by 2021 and 10 lakh by 2027.
The Cabinet Secretary said the policy also has a target of enhancing the contribution of the industry to gross domestic product (GDP) to 2.5 percent from 0.5 percent at present. He said the policy will promote the domestic motorcycle industry and reduce the import dependency.
He said, "The purpose of the policy is to create or assemble new motorcycles which will be produced through the local factories."The popularity of motorcycles among the youths has been growing for several years especially due to traffic congestion and easy movement by the transport.
After the approval of the government's ride-sharing policy, the sale of the motorcycles has gone up rapidly.The cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office also gave its final approval to the draft of 'Bangladesh Shishu Academy Act, 2018'.
Shafiul Alam said the Shishu Academy has been functioning under an ordinance promulgated by the military government in 1976. The new law seeks to make the ordinance a law as per directives of the Supreme Court.The draft law has a provision of forming a 19-member management board and upgrading the post of the director of the academy to Director General, he said.
As per the law, a distinguished person with the background of children's litterateur or Swadhina Padak or Ekushey Padak winning academic person will be appointed to the post of the chairman of the academy.
The cabinet constituted a four-member cabinet committee headed by LGRD and cooperatives minister for further scrutiny of the draft on Bangladesh Prokoushal Gobeshona Council Act, 2018 when the bill was placed before it for approval.
Headed by LGRD Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, Housing and Public Works Minister Engr Mosharraf Hossain, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu and Science and Technology Minister Yafes Osman are the members of the committee.The Cabinet Secretary said the committee would submit the report to the government for further improvement of the act.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Cabinet adopted an obituary resolution in memory of freedom fighter and writer Rama Chowdhury, who epitomized herself as a symbol and sacrifice and struggle during the Liberation War of 1971 and thereafter.
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