Hello assalamu alaykum and good evening mam . Thank you so much for having us here.

we are
delighted to be here. Today we are going to present our group project assigned on the topic
What steps should be taken by the government of Bangladesh to overcome the economic
slowdown of economic activities? Discuss and give our personal opinion as well as expert
suggestion. We would like to express our gratitude towards our honorable Marina Akter mam
for allowing us to talk about this topic.

So now I’m going to introduce myself and my team members. Here now is Afia Sultana promi
and over here is Nabajyoti Sharma. Next to him Murchona acharjee , next to her is Sheikh
Sakibul Hasib and last but not the least one is Fahima Jahin khan.

Now I give you a brief intro about our presentation topic. As I’ve said earlier our topic is What
steps should be taken by the government of Bangladesh to overcome the economic
slowdown of economic activities, So first of all we need to define what is economic slowdown .

When the rate of economic growth slows in an economy it is known as an economic slowdown.
Countries usually measure economic growth in terms of gross domestic product (GDP),

Subsequently, We need to define what is economic activities.

 The economic activity takes place when resources such as capital goods, labor, manufacturing
techniques are combined to produce specific goods or services. Thus, economic activity is
characterized by the input of resources, a production process, and the output of products.

So basically we can say that An economic slowdown is a general slowdown in economic

activity. It can happen in a specific region or on a global scale.

Being a continuously developing nation, Bangladesh is also one of the emerging markets among
the countries that fall under the Next Eleven. since its independence has come a long way in
terms of achieving economic development. But in comparison, other countries which are more
or less the same age have exceeded Bangladesh in economic development. So now the
question arose what’s the reason behind the economic slowdown in Bangladesh.

First of all, comes the population problem. Bangladesh which is the 8th most populated country
in the world has found herself back footed due to the burden of overpopulation. The limited
resources should go to meet the basic needs of the population or be used to build
infrastructure which would pave the way for greater economic growth. Undoubtedly the major
portion of the earnings is spent on the import of edibles.

then come Natural calamities and Environmental problems. Bangladesh is widely known as
the country of natural calamities. The continuous occurrence of natural calamities causes
widespread damage to crops as well as to the infrastructure, putting the country under
economic constraint.

The relationship between economic growth and political stability are more complex than is
widely presumed. Political instability occur when there is the difference of suggesting different
solution, at the time of transition of governance. The instability affects our all economic
variable, such as, exports, imports, price level, tourism sector, human rights etc.

Then come Inequality. The growing gap between the rich and the poor created
vulnerability in the country. Rich getting richer and poor getting more poorer has put the
middle class virtually non-existent. Below 2% of the population pays tax which tells us how
limited country’s internal resources are.

The corruption which has spread into the branches of all the system in Bangladesh could be
one of the most important barricading factors in the economic development of Bangladesh.
People have lost faith in administration and judiciary and are well aware of that without
resorting to unethical means nothing can be done in this country.

Covid-19 impact on the major economic and financial indicators of the economy of
Bangladesh. Based on the available job and other economic data, the writer estimates that at
least 13.50 million people lost their jobs or did not have any work during the lockdown. the
most negatively affected people in the crisis include ordinary labourers, garments-factory
workers, transport workers, especially rickshaw and van pullers and small trader.

Above all our country is facing a huge negative effect . Slower increase in living standards –
inequality may become more noticeable to those on lower incomes. Demand for bank credit
has gone down. Currency has also significantly depreciated. Less tax revenue than expected to
spend on public services. which in turn leads to a decrease in production and a sharp rise in
unemployment. Investors spend less as they fear stocks values will fall and thus stock markets
fall on negative sentiment. If the crisis affects the economy of Bangladesh, the government may
have to resort to expansionary fiscal policy.

So now I’m going to discuss What steps should be taken by the government of Bangladesh to
overcome the economic slowdown of economic activities? Based on my personal opinion as
well as expert suggestion.

In the words of Amartya Sen ‘’development requires the removal of major sources of
unfreedom poverty as well as tyranny, poor economic opportunities as well as systematic social
deprivation neglect of public facilities as well as intolerance or over activity of repressive
states’’.

The government needs to allocating highest amount of budget to the education sector.
Educated and skilled people would be more oriented towards career which would help
containing population. The following has been supported by Dr. Haque which he proved that
education of the population is directly linked with the drastic population boom. Such is the
effect of education; people residing in urban areas could achieve tallest primary education.
Also Industrialists, while setting-up of industry, and financial institutions, while financing any
projects; must agree jointly to prevent the effect of carbon emission and other industrial
hazards to environment which actually causes of natural calamities. The guideline known as the
‘’Equator Principles’’ which should be followed by public and private banks stating in simple
words, ‘’We will not provide loans directly to projects where the borrower will not or is
unable to comply with our environmental and social policies and processes’’

The malady of political instability has no easy way out of our society. Mr Stephan Evans, said
that the political mistrust and confrontational politics run deep in this country and that the
country cannot afford to return to the politics of deep-seated division and violence of the past.
Government must take opposition into confidence and pursue for solving disputes through
discussion and dialogues instead of showing heavy handed attitude.

Solving inequality in the country, at the time, could be very complex and unwelcoming since
the Goverment has to take tough and unpopular decisions in this regard. Proper formulation
and implementation of Monetary and Fiscal policy is very crucial to narrow the gap between
rich and poor. Here government has to be very careful regarding controlling the money supply
in the economy.

Creation of jobs shall narrow the gap between the poor and the rich. For that government has
to take measures to increase the skills and education among the young people. Setting up
technical institutes and universities can cater the demand for professionals in the sectors such
as IT , medicine etc.

Corruption is one of the greatest obstacles to development. Government needs to put in place a solid
set of preventive tools. Codes of Conduct and strong independent oversight bodies can help ensure that
the acceptable standards of behavior are respected in both the private and public sector.

The economy is steadily recovering after being heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,
which hampered growth and reversed the poverty reduction trend for the first time in two
decades, the report said. The government should also consider an unconditional cash transfer
program for an initial period of three months at a rate of $95 per month, which corresponds to
the minimum wage for the formal sector in Bangladesh. This would cost the government
roughly $14 billion, or 4% of GDP.

Also the public needs to be educated on the advantages of good governance and participate in
promoting it.

Finally, we believes Bangladesh has got immense potentiality and if all these barricading factors
are taken sincere care of it would not be too long to see that the country, Bangladesh, would
become middle income nation.
Thanks for your patience mam. We are grateful to you for giving us this opportunity to share
our idea with you.