PM for taking foreign loans to offset dollar crisis
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has emphasised the need for securing loans from foreign countries, including China and India, on a G2G (government-to-government) basis to offset the ongoing dollar crisis in the country.
Planning Minister MA Mannan shared the information with reporters after the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) at the NEC conference room in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar on Tuesday.
Referring to the mounting pressure on reserves, the planning minister quoted the prime minister as saying that if loans come from foreign countries at this moment, the reserves of foreign currencies will have some support.
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To this end, the prime minister instructed the approval, assessment and implementation of foreign loan projects on priority basis.
In this case, the premier said there may be laxity on part of development partners, but there should not be negligence on our part.
Besides, the prime minister said government officials should be provided vehicles for use as per their rank, while reiterating taking austerity measures.
"How much a car would be worth for the use of an official of a particular rank, such as for a secretary, is set per the government's rules and regulations," said Planning Minister MA Mannan said.
So far, the Planning Commission did not consider these issues in depth, which will now be considered seriously. The sole purpose for this is to be thrifty, he said.
"Apart from this, under any development project, the size of the office an officer will get, or the amount of furniture, will also be taken into consideration," he added.
Govt mulls increasing incentive on remittance from 2.5% to 3.5%
The government is planning to raise the incentive given to remitters from 2.5% to 3.5% to increase remittance flows.
"It is being considered whether the incentive for expatriates can be raised," Planning Minister MA Mannan said.
"However, it should also be checked if someone takes the incentive and tries to bring it again in the form of remittance," the minister said.
Besides, the government is also expecting remittances to increase ahead of Eid-ul-Adha, he added.
Earlier on 1 January 2022, the government increased the incentive on the remittance to 2.5% from the previous 2% to encourage remitters to use legal channels to send money home.
