The Leadership of Sheikh Hasina and Changing Picture of Bangladesh

Bangabandhu's dream of building a golden Bangladesh is being implemented by the Prime Minister with hard work and talent. With the hands of the world leader, this country will transform into a bright developed country like Singapore and Malaysia in a short time. Only Sheikh Hasina can build a developed, prosperous, peaceful Bengali nation and Bangladesh. The world is amazed by Sheikh Hasina's indomitable strength, courage, morale and strong leadership. Bangladesh will become the 29th largest economy in the world by 2030 and the 23rd economy by 2050. And in 2021, Bangladesh will make its debut in the world as a 'middle-income country and in 2041 as a 'developed country. The big proof that Bangladesh is moving forward is that the per capita income of the country's people has increased over the past few years. The current per capita income is $2,824. Today, our beloved motherland Bangladesh is one of the top countries in the world in terms of economic progress.

The inauguration of the Padma Bridge is a development milestone. Successfully combating corona pandemic, education, communication infrastructure, gas, electricity, women education, 100% increase in salary of employees, health care, distribution of free books, achieving self-sufficiency in food production, under social programs backward communities, destitute, elderly, widows, the person with disabilities, Divorcees, Autism, assistance to destitute freedom fighters, shelter scheme, one house one farm scheme, women empowerment and the overall development of various sectors have been played a major role by the government led by the Prime Minister.

The role of electricity in the development of a country is undeniable. Persistent power shortages slowed the country's progress. In other words, the long-standing electricity problem in the country, for which the previous governments could not provide any solution - the Awami League government has brought it to the doorsteps of the people by producing electricity at an excessive cost. This production is not only used for household purposes, but also for other electricity-dependent means, which has made the wheels of the country's economy move.Bangladesh has already shown more efficiency than most of the countries in the world in dealing with the Covid pandemic.

The Prime Minister is urging us to implement the development program as best we can. There is no denying that in the last 12 years, two and a half crore poor people have risen above the poverty line. Bangladesh has become a role model for poverty alleviation. Bangladesh is moving forward with simultaneous emphasis on high growth and inclusion.

Despite the current crisis, ADB says Bangladesh's growth will be 6.9 percent in 2022. In 2023 it will be 7.3 percent. Not just the IMF; International rating agencies also say that Bangladesh will not risk any investment. In an interview given to a world-renowned magazine about the drivers behind the success of Bangladesh, the Prime Minister said - 'We are always trying to set and implement short- and medium-term development goals in the way shown by Bangabandhu. ...' In that interview, she rightly recalled Bangladesh's achievements in increasing literacy rates, increasing average life expectancy, improving food production, water and sanitation systems, and reducing infant and maternal mortality.

To be honest, for the last 13-14 years, the government under her leadership has given top priority to investing in people, not only has our poverty rate decreased during this time; Besides, but the empowerment of the people has also gained a new dimension. These empowered people have been the main driving force behind our macroeconomic transformation.

This initiative gave Sheikh Hasina an opportunity to unite the party. After 21 years with that united power, she won the 1996 election and brought the party to power for 21 years. Sheikh Hasina made the impossible possible by forming the government in 1996, bringing the murderers of her family to justice and later bringing the war criminals to justice. And the opportunity came to carry forward the ideals of the Bengali nation. Bangabandhu's daughter Sheikh Hasina started working as a path and path for the overall welfare, development and liberation of the people of Bangladesh. She proved that she has no alternative to the development of democracy in Bangladesh. Sheikh Hasina's integrity, devotion, integrity, rational mindset, strong morale, wisdom and extraordinary leadership have established Bangladesh at a different height in the world arena and she is known as the leader of the world.

The use of fertilizers and advanced technology in agriculture and the improvement of communication systems led to a significant increase in the growth rate of grain production in the late nineties and early present century. The country is now self-sufficient in food production due to the cultivation of high-yielding crops. In 1982, the production of paddy in the country was only 11 million tons, in 2020 it increased to more than 36 million tons. Food production including paddy, wheat, and maize in 2020 was 45.3 million tons. Bangladesh ranks third in the world in rice production. Bangladesh ranks third in fish production, second in jute production, fourth in vegetable production, and eighth in mango production. Bangladesh ranks second only to China and Vietnam in the production of readymade garments.

The Awami League government led by the present Prime Minister Bangabandhu's daughter Sheikh Hasina came to power for the second time in 2009. Sheikh Hasina has been serving as the Prime Minister for the fourth term (and for the third consecutive term) after winning two more consecutive elections in 2014 and 2018. During the last 14 years of her rule, there has been a tremendous improvement in various fields of economic and social indicators.

The country's investment in public and private initiatives has increased significantly. Investment in medium and large-scale industries has resulted in increased production of readymade garments, food-beverages-tobacco, steel, cement, leather and leather products, jute and jute products, edible oil, rubber and plastic products, electronics, light engineering products, bicycles, motorcycles etc. As a result, it is possible to meet both domestic demand and export. The contribution of industry to the country's GDP in 2019 has reached about 35 percent. Expansion of small, medium and large-scale industries increases employment. Not only in industry but also in transport, hotel-restaurant, tourism, etc. service sector and infrastructure development, housing, print and electronic media, ICT, etc.

The biggest achievement of the present government is the development of the country's infrastructure. By constructing roads, bridges, culverts, flyovers, railways, schools-colleges, growth centers, hat bazaars, health centers, community clinics, union complexes, cyclone shelters, etc., civic amenities of urban and rural people have been improved and ease of living has been brought.

 After starting the implementation work of Padma Bridge with its own funds, 10-12 more mega projects are being implemented with domestic and foreign funding. These include Karnafuli Tunnel, Dhaka Metrorail, Two Elevated Expressways in Dhaka, Rampal and Materbari Power Project, Payra Seaport, Matarbari Deep Seaport, Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, Mirsarai Economic Zone in Chittagong etc. Several mega projects will be completed by 2022-23. With the launch of the Padma Bridge alone, the country's total GDP will grow by 1.2 percent. Therefore, after the implementation of a few more big projects, the country's GDP growth is likely to exceed 10 percent.

One of the pledges of 'Vision 2021' was to build a digital Bangladesh with ICT knowledge by 2021. In the last 13 years, due to the efforts and action plan of the present government, information and communication technology has expanded in the country. Computerized online services have been introduced in public and private institutions, banks, railways, airlines etc. ICT exports exceeded 1 billion in 2016 alone. In nine of the 39 high-tech parks already built, 18 local and foreign companies have started their business activities. During the Corona pandemic, activities have been conducted on virtual platforms in offices-courts, educational institutions, corporate offices and in print and electronic media. At present, the number of mobile phones in the country is about 16 crore and the number of internet users is 13 crore. The launch of the Bangabandhu-1 satellite is an important step in building a digital Bangladesh. This has facilitated the provision of internet services and broadcasting of television channels across the country.

Along with digitalization, the silent revolution of grassroots financial inclusion is also significant progress of the last one decade. Public-private initiatives like microcredit, general banking and mobile banking have also ensured civic amenities in rural areas and have had a positive impact on people's business and livelihood.

Bangladesh is one of the countries dealing with the adverse effects of climate change. Keeping this difficult fact in mind, the government has formulated a 100-year development plan called the 'Bangladesh Delta Plan-2100'.

As the President of the Climate Vulnerable Group, various suggestions and initiatives of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have been appreciated in various forums at home and abroad. With the conquest of the sea, about 1 lakh 31 thousand 96 square kilometers of sea area has been included in the maritime boundary of Bangladesh, as a result of which there is a possibility of reaping the benefits of a rich blue economy. With the implementation of the 7-year unresolved land boundary agreement with India, 16,751 acres of 111 enclaves have been added to the Bangladesh border.

Bangladesh has come a long way in empowering women during the four-term tenure of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, daughter of Bangabandhu. The participation of women in all types of public and private employment is satisfactory. Women are working efficiently as secretaries of government, chairmen or directors of corporate groups. There has been considerable progress in women's education as a result of providing stipends in schools and colleges. Provision has been made to recruit 60 percent female teachers in primary schools. As 80 percent of the workers in the readymade garment industry are women, the individual freedom and financial well-being of rural women have been ensured. At present, the participation of women in the labor force is 36 percent. Bangladesh ranks 50th out of 153 countries in the Gender Gap Index and 7th in women's political empowerment.

As a result of the visionary, self-confident and courageous leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh is a wonder of the world today and a role model for development. Sheikh Hasina built the Padma Bridge with its own funds, transformed the country from a least developed country to a developing country, and dreamed of building a developed country by 2041. Bangladesh is now one of the top five fast developing countries. Bangladesh's astonishing rise and advancement in the socio-economic sector are now recognized all over the world.

Despite the commendable economic development of Bangladesh in various sectors in the post-independence 50 years, some problems and challenges have hampered our progress or weakened our momentum. With GDP growth, most of the wealth is being concentrated in the hands of the upper-class industrialists, businessmen and the privileged upper middle class.

As a result, the lower class and lower middle class are deprived of their fair share of development. In order to reduce income inequality, it is necessary to have more employment, increase social security programs and increase the income of industrial establishments with regular increases in wages. Money laundering, money laundering abroad, intentional defaulters, embezzlement of bank money, and the unprincipled corrupt politics of a class of people hamper our progress. The government and the people need to take united steps with patriotism to tackle the above-mentioned challenges including 'Zero Tolerance' against corruption. Then we will succeed in building Bangabandhu's dream 'Golden Bengal' and according to the vision of 2041, Bangladesh will be considered a developed, prosperous country 2041.


Hiren Pandit is a researcher and columnist