Plan to raise productivity rate to face global competition

The government is preparing a plan to increase the country's productivity rate in a bid to face the competitive global market. Under the move, an official said the Ministry of Industries (MoI) has a plan to raise the productivity rate to 5.6 percent by the year 2030 from the existing 3.8 percent.

The plan also aims to ensure the quality of products in line with the international standard for boosting export.

"We have taken 'Bangladesh National Productivity Master Plan (2021-2030)' to increase the level of national productivity rate to 5.6 percent from the present 3.8 percent," Nishchinta Kumar Podder, director of National Productivity Organisation (NPO), told the FE.

He said that the master plan had been incorporated into the eighth five-year plan of the government.

The 16th meeting of the National Productivity Council (NPC) discussed the issues at the MoI last week, he said. The master plan will be implemented by the NPO, which is under the MoI.

The NPO director said the meeting had laid emphasis on giving proper technical training to the workable unemployed youths to turn them into human resources in a real sense.

The meeting also gave importance to build an amicable relationship between the owners and the workers, he further said.

Besides, Nishchinta Kumar said, a subject named 'Raising productivity will also be included in the technical education from the next academic session (2022).

The NPO official further said that the MoI had also organized seminars in five districts to build the capacity of the government officials and also to disseminate the message about the necessity of increasing national productivity across the country.

The Committee for Development Policy of the United Nations (UN CDP) has recently recommended Bangladesh's graduation from the group of the least-developed countries (LDCs) to a developing country.

The development has brought challenges in the area of trade and commerce, especially for exports in the global market, following graduation in 2026.

The country needs to gear up its productivity level and ensure the quality of products to tackle global economic challenges, according to the MoI.

The ministries of industries, commerce, textiles and jute, labor and employment, planning, power, energy and mineral resources, and roads and bridges, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh Jute Mills Association, Bangladesh Trade Union Centre, Bangladesh University of Engineering Technology and Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) put forward their suggestions on how to strengthen the NPO.