Incentives not sufficiently linked to employment generation for poor: Citizen’s Platform for SDGs

The incentives in the next budget are not sufficiently linked to employment generation particularly for the left-behind groups as well as the "new poor" due to the pandemic, Debapriya Bhattacharya, convenor of Citizen's Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh said today.

He said no fiscal incentive specifically targeted towards incentivising industries or improving the livelihood of people, in remote and hard to reach areas (e.g. Char, Haor, coastal areas).

"These groups are among the worst affected by the pandemic due to the multiple shocks they are exposed to," said Bhattacharya, who is also a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue.

He was speaking at a press briefing on "National Budget 2021-22: What is there for the "disadvantaged people" convened by the Citizen's Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh.

The second wave has not been considered in the preparation of the budgetary numbers and thus, in general, all projections for FY22 are on the higher side, he added.