Dhaka: Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) today emphasized the necessity of exploring new revenue sources, enhancing efficiency in existing collection mechanisms, and sealing leakages to mobilize additional public resources.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the private think tank highlighted the importance of strengthening institutions, improving governance frameworks, and ensuring transparency and accountability in policy implementation for the upcoming fiscal year.
The CPD made these observations during a media briefing on ‘State of the Bangladesh Economy in FY24-25 (Third Reading)’ held at their office. Dr. Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the CPD, noted that the government has recently initiated several reform measures, including the separation of the National Board of Revenue into two departments-Revenue Policy and Revenue Management-to improve revenue collection and efficiency. These measures aim to enhance stock market performance and attract foreign direct investment.
Dr. Khatun also addressed the structural weaknesses in the banking sector, emphasizing the need for improved governance and resilience. She urged authorities to control money supply growth to curb inflation and ensure that monetary expansion aligns with real economic activity. Additionally, she stressed the implementation of reforms to improve loan sanctioning, enforce single borrower exposure limits, halt repeated loan rescheduling, and strengthen internal controls in troubled banks.
To boost competitiveness in Bangladesh’s Ready-Made Garments (RMG) exports, Fahmida emphasized the need to boost productivity, upgrade value addition, reinforce backward and forward linkages, and diversify products and markets. She also highlighted the importance of accelerating the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission’s (BSEC) decision-making and ensuring timely execution of recommendations from a forthcoming task force.
Furthermore, Fahmida urged the government to prioritize domestic gas exploration and invest in renewable energy to reduce import dependency and enhance energy security. The event also featured discussions by CPD Distinguished Fellow Dr. Mustafizur Rahman and other notable speakers.