Govt to create smart jobs and new research centres

Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali has just announced the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 for Bangladesh. In the proposal, the Finance Minister laid out the government's plan to create new "smart jobs" and establish new research centres based on "frontier technologies".

"Our goal is to create at least 10 lakh smart jobs in the information technology sector and attract foreign investment of US$ 1 billion over the next five years," said the Finance Minister in the official FY25 budget proposal.

He added that research centres are also planned to be established in the country. These centres will focus on "frontier technologies", which the Minister labelled the following fields: artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, robotics, semiconductors, electric vehicles, space, and geospatial technologies. 

According to the Minister's speech, special initiatives will be taken to "encourage innovation and research across the country", which he said will include the grassroots level. By doing so, the government expects to improve the capabilities of ICT sector stakeholders.

Furthermore, the Finance Minister claimed in his budget speech that over the past 15 years, 20 lakh young men and women have found employment in information technology. He added that Bangladesh's ICT sector is expected to see an increase in export volume, to as much as US$ billion in the next five years and to US$50 billion by 2041.