Economy
PM asks youth to work for forming cooperative
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday, November 5, called upon the country’s youths to engage in inspiring people to form cooperatives for boosting food production and pulling the country ahead further.
“The youths will have to come forward. We can go a long way if the youths do their activities in bringing village people together as everyone will have the responsibility,” she said.
The premier was addressing a function on the 51st National Cooperatives Day at Bangabandhu International Conference Center, BICC as the chief guest, joining virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban in Dhaka.
She told the youths not to chase after the job but rather get involved in food production activities such as poultry and fish cultivation by forming cooperatives.
Referring to the 100 special economic zones being established by the government, she said, “you (youths) can set up food processing factories there, which will not only meet the local demand but also can help export abroad.”
Sheikh Hasina said she believes that the country could attain desired economic success through cooperatives.
She also urged all to work in combination to overcome the crisis that was created in the country due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine war as well as sanctions and counter-sanctions.
With State Minister for Rural Development and Cooperative Swapan Bhattacharjee in the chair, Register and Director General of the Department of Cooperatives Dr. Tarun Kanti Sikder delivered the welcome address.
Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Md Tazul Islam and Rural Development and Co-operative Division Sectary Md. Mashiur Rahman also spoke as a special guest.
A total of nine Samobay Samity (cooperative associations) and one person were given National Cooperative Award-2021 on the event.
On behalf of the prime minister, Md Tazul Islam handed over the award. Each awardee was conferred with a gold medal and a certificate.
At the outset of the function, a video documentary on national cooperative day was screened. The theme of the day is “Bangabandhu’s Philosophy, Development of Cooperative.
The prime minister said cooperatives are absolutely essential for agricultural production, life and livelihood of the people in the country.
“Cooperatives create enormous scopes in a densely populated country like ours. Paying attention to it, we will have to strengthen cooperatives,” she said.
She stressed the need for giving utmost importance to cooperatives for the development of the country’s people.
Sheikh Hasina said her government is working for the people and wants to create scopes so that every individual can improve their life and livelihood.
She said her government opened every sector for private entrepreneurs so employment is generated.
Talking about inflation, the premier said the price of every commodity has soared throughout the world due to the war and Covid-19, which affected Bangladesh also and almost all the countries are now suffering from high inflation.
“Everyone has to run using its reserve (of foreign currencies). Also, we are to do it for the well-being of the common people of the country,” she added.
She said that now Bangladesh needs to purchase fertilizers, fuel and edible oil at very high prices amid high transportation costs for the sake of the people and agricultural production.
The head of government said although the country has cent per cent electricity coverage, but now they are facing much trouble in generating power as imports of fuel and gas are being hampered due to the war.
“I hope that we can overcome this situation,” she said, referring to the measures taken by the government such as solar power, coal-fired power plant as well as the import of power from Nepal and Bhutan.
She, however, reiterated her call to the countrymen to put concentration on savings and exercising austerity as well as boosting food production.
She once again requested all not to spare any inch of land uncultivated but rather made a call to produce whatever they can.
She said the current progress of Bangladesh should in no way be interrupted.
Though the Covid-19 and current war and sanctions slowed down the progress to some extent, the government’s goal is to go forward overcoming this situation and build the country as Sonar Bangla as dreamt by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, she added.
Sheikh Hasina said her government’s goal is that the rural people would get civic facilities, improved life and lead a decent lifestyle.
In this context, she mentioned several schemes, including “My House My Farm” (Amar Bari Amar Khamar) and “My Village My Town” (Amar Gram Amar Shohor) programmes, which were taken by her government for the development of rural people.
“We want to transform every village into a town,” said the prime minister.
She stressed the need for the construction of modern houses through cooperative societies to make modern flats affordable for the villagers as well as to protect arable lands by stopping the indiscriminate construction of homes everywhere.
The government has also started a project titled “Palli Janapad” to construct modern houses in a planned way for the rural people, she said.
The premier said her government took the ‘My House My Farm scheme’ and micro-saving project under the scheme so that the poor people don’t need to bear the burden of micro-credit rather they can save money and take loans, forming a cooperative society under it.
If they save Tk200, the government would add another Tk200 to it till two years and the money would remain deposited in Palli Sanchay Bank, she added.
Referring to the countrywide recent havoc and atrocities, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said that she had an apprehension there might be a strike like this by the BNP-Jamaat clique to pull down the country’s prosperity.
“. . . they (BNP-Jamaat) had wanted not to hold the elections, but we had arranged the elections. After election they thought it wouldn’t be accepted by all, but we’ve also made it acceptable to all and we’ve formed the government. It was an apprehension to me that there would be a strike like this,” she said.
The Premier made this remarks while exchanging views with editors, senior journalists and head of news of various media outlets, organised by Editors’ Guild at her office (PMO).
She mentioned that before and after the election in 2013-14, the BNP-Jmaat clique unleashed arson attacks and killings that left hundreds of people killed and thousands injured.
“It was little bit understandable that this (the activities and movement of the students) was a grave conspiracy,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said that she didn’t want any incident which might invite any unwanted situation that will invite instability in the country. “It was the target to destroy country’s economy,” she said.
She questioned about the understanding level of the people who supported these mayhem aiming to cripple the country’s advancement and prosperity.
Sheikh Hasina, also the chief of Awami League, said that vested quarter is highly interested to destroy country’s independence and the continuation of the democracy that is going on for long 15 years.
She again said that she never wanted to deploy army personnel in the field while the students were there for the sake of their security.
“While they (students) declared that they are not involved in the on going subversive activities then we called for army,” she said.
The premiers also said that she also didn’t want to impose curfew as the country is going through a democratic environment for 15 years.
She requested the people to resist those who have done this bane for the country. “They have destroyed all the structures have been built for their welfare and livelihood. They have struck all those structures. Who will be the worst sufferer? Of course, mass people. Now it is the responsibility of the mass people to resist these terrorism and militancy,” she said.
The premier called for creating mass awareness against the militancy that has opened in the destructive activities.”If the people don’t become aware then what could we do or how much we could do alone,” she said.
She also mentioned that the targets of the recent mayhem was Awami League, Freedom Fighters and pro-liberation forces.
The Prime Minister said that when all demands of the quota-free movement students were accepted why they gave scope to the militants for doing such heinous activities.
“One day the quota-free movement activists have to answer to the nation, why they gave such opportunity to them for this destruction to the country,” she said.
PM’s Press Secretary Md Nayeemul Islam Khan moderated the programme, while Editors’ Guild president Mozammel Huq Babu delivered welcome address.
Senior journalist Abed Khan, Bangladesh Pratidin editor Nayeem Nizam, DBC Editor-in-Chief and CEO Monzurul Islam, Bhorer Kagoj Editor and Jatiya Press Club general secretary Shyamol Dutta, Daily Jugantor Editor Saiful Alam, Jatiya Press Club president Farida Yasmin, Dhaka Journal chief editor Syed Istiaque Reza, Head of News Nagorik TV Dip Azad, Amader Somoy Editor Mainul Alam, Bangladesh Journal editor Shajahan Sarder, DBC news editor Zayedul Ahsan Pintu, Ashish Saikat of Independent TV, Bangla Tribune editor Zulfiquer Russell, head of News of 71 TV Shakil Ahmed, Energy and Power Editor Mollah Amzad, Head of News of Kings News Nazmul Huq Saikat and Mamunur Rahman Khan of RTV also spoke.
Britain’s inflation rate held steady in June after returning to the Bank of England’s target the previous month, official data showed Wednesday, confounding expectations for another modest slowdown.
The Consumer Prices Index was unchanged at 2.0 percent in June from the same level in May, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement, compared with market forecasts of 1.9 percent.
“Hotel prices rose strongly, while second-hand car costs fell but by less than this time last year,” said ONS chief executive Grant Fitzner.
“However, these were offset by falling clothing prices, with widespread sales driving down their cost.
“Meanwhile, the cost of both raw materials and goods leaving factories fell on the month, though factory gate prices remain above where they were a year ago.”
Analysts said the data could cause the Bank of England to sit tight for a while longer before starting to cut interest rates.
“The chances of an interest rate cut in August have diminished a bit more,” said Paul Dales, chief UK economist at research consultancy Capital Economics.
Last month, the BoE kept its key interest rate at a 16-year high of 5.25 percent, despite slowing inflation in May.
Britain’s newly elected Labour government welcomed news that inflation remained at the BoE’s target level.
“It is welcome that inflation is at target,” said Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, in a statement.
“But we know that for families across Britain prices remain high… (which) is why this government is taking the tough decisions now to fix the foundations” of the UK economy, he said.
Labour, led by new Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has pledged immediate action to grow the economy after the centre-left party won a landslide general election victory to end 14 years of Conservative rule.
Later on Wednesday, King Charles III will read out Labour’s first programme for government in a decade and a half, when the UK parliament formally reopens following the July 4 election.
Elevated interest rates have worsened a UK cost-of-living squeeze because they increase borrowing repayments, thereby cutting disposable incomes and crimping economic activity.
The BoE began a series of rate hikes in late 2021 to combat inflation, which rose after countries emerged from Covid lockdowns and accelerated after the invasion of Ukraine by key oil and gas producer Russia.
China’s economy grew 4.7 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2024, official data showed Monday, less than analysts had expected.
“By quarter, the GDP for the first quarter increased by 5.3 percent year on year and for the second quarter 4.7 percent,” Beijing’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement.
The figures were much lower than the 5.1 percent predicted by analysts polled by Bloomberg.
Retail sales — a key gauge of consumption — also slowed to just two percent in June, the NBS said, down from 3.7 percent in May.
The world’s second-largest economy is grappling with a real estate debt crisis, weakening consumption, an ageing population and trade tensions with Western rivals.
Top officials are meeting in Beijing on Monday for a key plenum, with all eyes on how they might kickstart lacklustre growth.
