The government will continue the 2.5 per cent incentive to increase the remittance inflow in the upcoming 2022-23 financial year, apart from its plan to establish 100 technical institutes at the upazila level to boost manpower export.
While presenting the proposed Tk 6,78,064 crore national budget for FY2022-23 in parliament on Thursday, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal proposed to keep the same incentive rate but did not say how much money will be allocated in this regard.
In the outgoing FY2021-22, the government had allocated Tk 4,000 crore for this purpose.
The decision to continue the 2.5 per cent incentive rate, however, has been appreciated by former Bangladesh Bank governor Salehuddin Ahmed. He told The Business Post, “This is the correct decision. It will play a role in increasing remittance inflow.”
In FY2020-21, remittance growth stood at 36.10 per cent. However, since the beginning of FY22, remittance income has slightly decreased. In the July-May period of this fiscal year, remittance income declined 16 per cent to $19.19 billion, compared to same period of FY21.
“Due to the sluggish economic recovery in our major overseas labour markets because of the Covid pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, there has been a stagnation in remittance earning in the current fiscal year,” the finance minister admitted in his budget speech.
To boost remittance inflow and foreign exchange reserves, the government has recently withdrawn the provision of mandatory submission of documents for getting the 2.5 per cent incentive against incoming remittance of $5,000 or Tk 5 lakh and upward.
As a result, the migrant workers will now get the 2.5 per cent instant incentive for any amount of remittance sent in the official channel, without submitting documents to the foreign exchange houses abroad.
“As a result, in recent months the flow of remittance has begun to increase again. It is expected that a satisfactory growth of remittance will be back on track soon,” hoped the finance minister.
He said that vocational and technical education will be expanded in order to create skilled manpower. Emphasis will continue to be given to building skilled manpower and exploring new labour markets to increase remittance income.
“A plan of action for establishing technical training institutes at every Upazila by phase has been taken up for inspiring the marginalised communities across the country. The implementation of the project for establishing 100 technical institutes at Upazila level will start soon,” Kamal said.
Apart from this, there is a plan to ensure overseas employment of 8.10 lakh Bangladeshi workers and provide skill development training to 5.20 lakh workers in different trades, he added.
After the Covid-19 pandemic eased near the end of last year, manpower export has been booming.
In 2021, Bangladesh sent a total of 6,17,209 workers abroad, and in the first four months of 2022, the country has sent 5,03,979 workers to other countries.
