Govt taking steps to include unpaid services in nat'l income accounting: Ali

Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali said the government is taking steps to include unpaid services in the national income accounting.

"Steps are being taken to assess how the unpaid services can be included in the national income accounting," he said while placing around Tk 7.97 lakh crore national budget for FY25 at Jatiya Sangsad (JS) in Dhaka on Thursday afternoon.

In his speech, Ali said a number of reform programmes have already been carried out to maintain the stability of the financial sector and to ensure deeper engagement of the financial sector with the grassroots of the country to ensure sustainable development.

"For example, Mobile Financial Services (MFS) and modern payment systems are being expanded to increase participation in financial inclusion activities," he said.

"Various initiatives have been taken to develop the MFS system by reducing cash out charges and increasing transaction limits, use of MFS accounts in micro credit programmes including disbursement of social security programme allowances under G2P system, and expansion of sub-branch and agent banking systems," he added.

As a result, he said, its popularity and acceptance at the individual and business level is increasing and the involvement of people in the financial sector is also increasing at a rapid pace.

"As of January 2024, the number of agents registered under MFS is about 17 lakh 39 thousand, the number of customers is about 22 crore and the number of active customers is 8 crore 37 lakh," he added.