Plan stimulus package ahead of second wave: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has directed the finance ministry to draw up an incentive package plan ahead of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

She gave the directive at a meeting held at Ganabhaban to finalise the Eighth Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) on Wednesday.

General Economics Division (GED) Member (Senior Secretary) Dr Shamsul Alam presented the plan.

The prime minister went through the various details in the plan and directed officials concerned accordingly.

The head of the government also directed the Planning Commission to highlight the strategy and action plan separately.

The plan aims to increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth to 8.51% in the next five years.

It also aims to create 1.19 crore jobs – 84.2 lakh in the country and 35 lakh abroad – between the current financial year and fiscal year 2024-25, which is about 10 lakh less than the target of the Seventh Five-Year Plan.

The GED said 95 lakh jobs had been created in the last five years.

After the meeting, Shamsul told The Business Standard the prime minister had praised the draft of the new five-year plan.

"However, she suggested some changes. The draft will be submitted to the National Economic Council (NEC) for final approval after revising it according to the prime minister's suggestions."

Shamsul said the NEC meeting would be held on 29 December.

The Seventh Five-Year Plan expired in June this year.

Although the new plan was effective from July, it took additional time to prepare it due to the pandemic.    

Apart from Planning Minister MA Mannan, the governor of the Bangladesh Bank, the cabinet secretary, the principal secretary to the prime minister, the planning secretary and the finance secretary also attended the meeting.

The government has so far implemented 21 stimulus packages involving Tk1,21,353 crore, amounting to 4.34% of GDP to support industries and vulnerable groups of people hit hard by the pandemic since its outbreak in March.

The packages include Tk40,000 crore for large industries, Tk5000 crore for export sector workers' wage support and Tk20,000 crore small enterprises.

In addition, a revolving fund has been created to support small and medium enterprises through microfinance institutions as banks are failing to reach microbusinesses.

The government will also contribute Tk368 crore to the EU-funded unemployment schemes for those who lost jobs during the pandemic.