On the Way to Digital Bangladesh

By Ali Ehsan

Digital Bangladesh vision is probably the most honorable solution to the Socio-economic struggles of our country. The slogan has become synonymous to the expedited advancement of Bangladesh that has taken place under the able leadership of our Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina over the last one decade.

Fostered by public expectations – as reflected in the election polls – and bolstered by Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the Digital Bangladesh slogan has emerged beyond the election manifesto of a political niche to the heartfelt desire of 16 crore Bangladeshi.

Unlike the disingenuous lot, I will be reminiscing the success while disinterring the gaffe, as I believe the potent and wise telecommunication adviser of our honorable prime minister will most certainly welcome some new insights.

ICT has been an integral part of the digital renaissance of Bangladesh. ICTs constitute the most transformative innovation of the recent past. ICTs are interesting in the context of the inclusive development debate because of their ability to strengthen connectivity not only of higher-income groups but also of those at the lower income level.

During the 6th Five Year Plan period, Bangladesh has made important strides in utilizing technology to bring in tangible transformation in the citizen-centric services. Progress made in bringing government services to the doorstep of citizen is probably the area where Bangladesh registered most significant progress.

With over 10 crore active mobile users, our advancement in the telecommunication sector is exemplary. Cellular phone is no longer a commodity but a tool for triggering social changes. Understanding the importance of cellular phones in our day to day life, the government has devised m-governance to capitalize on the growing number of m-citizens.

Overhauling the leaders in the area of m-payment, Bangladesh has set a new standard for Mobile Banking. Our brothers and sisters abroad can easily transfer remittance to their families in remote villages through bKash, MKASH etc at the lowest global service charge.

Mobile helpline for farmers have triggered the production of crops. Introduction of programs like e-Tathyakosh, Pipilica and e-Purjee enable farmers to access tailored informations. Banglalink and Grameen Phone has gone a step further to open Farmer’s Call Center.

Mobile Health-lines have made health services available in remote places and affordable for the lower income citizens. Ubiquity of mobile phones across all district and upazila hospitals has made it possible to launch a “mobile phone health care” program. 18 hospitals have introduced telemedicine services so far (Source: ProthomAlo). Alongside the government, the local mobile

operators like Grameenphone, Teletalk and Robi have played a big role in mobilizing this project.

Mobile Bill Payment Service saves valuable working hours as we no longer have to stand in queue to pay our utility bills. This facility is no longer limited to the metropolis, as the service is available in Union Digital Centers as well.

Since 2009, applications for admission registration at 32 public universities, 400 colleges, all public medical colleges are being carried out through SMS service. SSC , HSC, JSC and PSC examination results are delivered through mobile phone text message. Citizens can apply for job positions in the Bangladesh Civil Service and Bangladesh Army through SMS. Important information is disseminated to prospective migrant workers through SMS service.

In the recent years, m-Ticketing service for bus and trains have become increasingly popular. This service is currently available for the Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi and Sylhet routes only.

Last year, Bangladesh received WSIS Award 2014 for taking innovative approaches towards introducing ICT-backed reforms in public service delivery. Also, it is worth mentioning that the “Alliance for Financial Inclusion” (AFI), an international organization of central banks and other financial regulators, awarded Bangladesh Bank for promoting financial inclusion policies in 2014. There is evidence of many global players, like Samsung, AMD, VizRT, WorldBridge Global – setting up operations in Bangladesh (KPMG, 2012:4).

After coming back to power in 2014, the government has managed to maintain an upward slope in iGDP. Into the 7th Five Year Plan Period, a plethora of acts, policies and guidelines are in place, some are more robust than the others, which is guiding the nation towards the realization of Digital Bangladesh.

My head is bowed with respect as I intend to illustrate our advancement in the internet sector and most importantly iGDP in the 7th Five Year Plan period. Bangladesh is no exception to the global leapfrog in internet-density over the last one decade. The number of internet users have increased from 1 million in 2004 to a staggering 36 million today.

The packages of m-initiatives and e-initiatives taken under the Digital Bangladesh vision have liberated our beleaguered economy. Despite the absence of quantitative assessment (iGDP for Bangladesh) of contribution of digital economy to Bangladesh’s GDP, there is growing perception that progress is being made to meet the e-business objective of the 6th Five Year Plan Period to enable businesses, irrespective of their size, to avail ICT for production and to gain market access domestically and internationally. (Researched from: Achieving Digital Bangladesh by 2021 and Beyond by Rokonuzzaman, PhD).

The Multimedia Classroom and Teacher-led Digital Content Development projects have digitalized the education sector. 12, 500 teachers have been trained to create multimedia

content. Secondary and Higher Secondary ICT based education project has established 20,000 Multimedia Classrooms The Basic ICT Skill Transfer up-to-Upazila-level has set up computer labs at 192 educational institutions. Large amount of e-contents have been made to aid students in the Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary level. ICT courses for grade VI – XII have been introduced besides e-book conversion of 325 textbooks.

Realizing the importance of Online Classroom and Outreach programs, the Ministry of ICT is aiding the Online Classroom initiative taken by Jaago Foundation. Unfortunately, there is no news of the establishment of a Massive Open Online Course(MOOC). Hopefully the e-contents developed by the teachers will be used to establish bengali Massive Open Online Courses(MOOC) like Khan Academy. The reputed public universities should launch online outreach programs, as higher education is still not accessible to a large fraction of our country’s population.

Electronic Tendering, Electronic Government Procurement and Electronic Contract Management facilities have reduced hassle in tender submission. The Electronic Government Procurement has increased participation of organizations or individuals in tender submission. It is also facilitating more donor support.

In order to take public and private information and services to the marginalized communities in rural areas the government has launched over 4,547 Union Digital Centers. In addition to information, these centers provide services to the general public pertaining to health, education, agriculture, legal services, online birth registration, foreign workers and professionals’ online registration service, and various types of utility payment services. This program is a huge success apart from a few complains about the management failure and inexperience of the appointed office-bearers.

Today, 14 community radio stations are proactively providing interactive voice response (IVR) related services and early disaster warnings to more than 4.6 million listeners of 67 upazilas under 13 districts. Disaster risks have been reduced as a result of adoption of early Interactive Voice Response through the provision of affordable communication through mobile phones. Dhaka Metropolitan Police has launched an experimental online diary. Several other Pro-citizen e-governance programs like Electronic Land Registration, Electronic Commerce, Electronic Passport Registration etc. have become massively popular among the common people.

Entrepreneurs have also been able to reap goods of the Digital Bangladesh vision. Digital Bangladesh offers generous opportunity for investment under its liberalized Industrial Policy and export-oriented, private sector-led growth strategy. Innovation funds, tax holiday for IT companies, seminars and initiation of the first government Venture incubation program in Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology(CUET) has provided sufficient leverage to the promising entrepreneurs.

Moreover, initiatives like the introduction of online application for licenses in business will make life easier for young entrepreneurs. And introduction of online payment through AlertPay

for both transaction within country and internationally will trigger growth in the e-commerce sector. Hopefully, the government will be able to convince PayPal to start operating in Bangladesh as the e-commerce and the outsourcing industry heavily depends on PayPal.

Approaching the final roadblock of this essay, I would like to expressive my sincere gratitude to the Honorable Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina for envisioning Digital Bangladesh. The influence of Digital Bangladesh is monumental in our national life. The successful execution of this model will be a legit demonstration of our nation’s might and will.

A version of this article appears in the DhakaInsider magazine on May 21, 2015 with the headline: On the Way to Digital Bangladesh