After successfully implementing the promise of building Digital Bangladesh, Bangladesh is now moving forward with a new program.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is working relentlessly towards the implementation of SDGs by 2030 and building a Smart Bangladesh by 2041. Today's students will one day face the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution and build a smart Bangladesh. A cost-effective, sustainable, intelligent, knowledge-based, innovative Smart Bangladesh will be built on these four main foundations: Smart Citizen, Smart Economy, Smart Government and Smart Society.
The 12th parliamentary election was held with festivity and excitement. By creating enthusiasm, especially the new generation has given the first vote in life. All around the election mood turned into a festival. Ever since the announcement of the schedule for the 12th national elections, there has been a lot of enthusiasm and a festive atmosphere among the people of the country. Especially the mood of the new voters was a little different. According to the information of the Election Commission, the number of new voters in this year's national elections has increased to 1 crore 54 lakh 52 thousand 956 people.
Those who voted for the first time in the national elections chose the legislators of the country for the next five years. According to statistics, one-fourth of the total population of the country is youth, which is around 5 crore. The youth vote acted as a key factor in the election. The current government is a youth-friendly government. Sheikh Hasina is working to build Smart Bangladesh from Digital Bangladesh to harness the power of youth.
Bangladesh Awami League announced the manifesto ahead of the 12th national parliament election. The slogan of this year's manifesto is 'Smart Bangladesh: Where Development Shines and Accelerating Employment'. Awami League has prioritised 11 issues by promising to build a smart Bangladesh. Creation of employment, keeping the price of goods within the purchasing power, establishing consistency between incomes, keeping the youth and youth society involved in the transformation and development of the country, taking measures against capital smugglers, eliminating bribery and corruption, bringing debt-tax-evasion and confiscating the illegal assets of the corrupt, the party promised.
Apart from this, in agriculture, service, economic and industrial production sectors, ensuring the fundamental rights of third-gender people have also been given importance. Bangladesh is committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and becoming a developed country by 2041. For this, the government is creating various job opportunities for the youth. Also taking important steps to ensure specific jobs. Everyone should come forward for employment and self-employment. It is now imperative for us to do this.
Transforming unemployed youth into manpower through skill development training and creating employment opportunities for them. Bangabandhu has taken and implemented various steps to establish Bangladesh as Sonar Bangla by providing youth with training in various professions and their employment. Following the footsteps of the father of the nation, the Awami League government is working tirelessly to make Bangladesh a developed country by 2041.
In a decade and a half, Bangladesh has gained status in the world as a dynamic and fast-growing economic power. In coming to government, the party has taken more steps to improve the overall economy, including high-income, sustainable, and inclusive development and to implement that, Awami League has a special action plan for youth employment. Sheikh Hasina recently participated in the 'Let's Talk' programme with the youth organised by CRI because of the elections. She answered various questions from the youth. The prime minister also spoke on giving a key role to youth and youth in building Smart Bangladesh.
Keeping in mind 11 issues have been given special priority in the election manifesto of Bangladesh Awami League, the second number has been said to be employable education and employment of the youth. It is a joy for a youngster. As a young person, youth talk with other young people about the various relevance of the country. Everyone's opinions, desires, needs, and dreams about Bangladesh are slowly being realised. Everyone supports this overwhelming progress in Bangladesh. How Bangladesh was before and how is it now? To those who are born now, it is natural that the words of the past may seem like stories in this modern society.
Because today's Bangladesh is a role model of development in the world. Bangladesh is now a wonderful country in the world. Bangladesh is keeping pace with the developed countries of the world in terms of development progress. People's living standards are improving. In all indicators, the country is moving forward as an indomitable Bangladesh. Now the basic needs of people are being fulfilled. The education rate is increasing. The country is coming under a hundred per cent electricity. Not only in the history of the country but also in the history of South Asia, the best mega projects have been implemented in Bangladesh and many projects are being implemented.
To build a smart Bangladesh, the government is giving importance to developing the young society as highly skilled manpower in education, knowledge, and technology and smart citizen, smart government, smart economy, smart society, and digital devices. Due to the availability of the internet and smartphones, all government services are available quickly and at home. What used to take a lot of money, labour and time can now be done at home with a single click.
The energy of youngsters is acting as the main representation of smart and modern Bangladesh. The cooperation of the youth in building a Smart Bangladesh hopes for the continuation of the present government. The youngsters will act as the vanguard of the implementation of the grand plan given by Sheikh Hasina to achieve the status of a high-income country in 2041. The glorious event or chapter in the history of the thousand years of the Bengali nation is the liberation war of 1971.
The fresh blood of three million martyrs and the unlimited sacrifices of millions of mothers and sisters have earned our freedom through nine months of war in 1971. After 23 years of agitation and nine months of armed war, the victory was won by defeating the Pakistani invaders on December 16, 1971. Bangabandhu made the dream of Bengal a reality. The war of liberation is the war to free the Bengali nation from the chains of exploitation. The spirit of the liberation war is the eternally cherished dream of our Bengali nation, the dream of the consciousness of a nation.
This dream has stirred our hearts and inspired our dream to establish a sovereign state. Helped to realize the dream and accelerated this dream and accelerated a new hope. The spirit that united the Bengali nation to establish a democratic and non-exploitative society, we need to do more to spread this consciousness among the new generation. This consciousness has to be sharpened for the new generation.
Youngsters are a life force, which is the dream of Bangladesh full of endless possibilities and colourful dreams. The thoughts of the youth will be the thoughts of Bangladesh, the thoughts of opening up new horizons about Bangladesh, and the radical thoughts of the youth will be about Bangladesh. Bangladesh will always exist. The work of the youth will be the work of Bangladesh. All dreams should be about Bangladesh. Youngsters have a glorious role in all the democratic struggles and liberation wars of Bangladesh.
Demographic changes in 2041 will see nearly half of the population under 30 years of age; the number of youths in the age group of 15-29 years will be more or less 2 crore. Awami League will keep these young people involved in the transformation and development of Bangladesh. Employment opportunities will be expanded for able-bodied, qualified youth and youth. Training will be given to 3.1 lakh youth in the district and upazila and the program will continue to provide support for their self-employment. Steps have been taken to create employment for an additional 1.5 million people by 2030.
Highlighting the statistics of unemployed youth, Sheikh Hasina said that the rate of unemployed youth will be reduced from the latest rate of 10.6 per cent to 3.0 per cent by 2028. Adequate technical training is being provided to illiterate and low-educated youth and youth. Continuation of micro-credit facility on easy terms for trained self-employed entrepreneurs and increase in loan amount. The National Service Program will be gradually expanded to all upazilas of the country to create employment for the youth. Sheikh Hasina said that youth training and employment centres will be established in every upazila to strengthen the training program at the grassroots level.
The proportion of 17.8 per cent of youth out of education, training, and employment will be reduced to below 7 per cent in the next 5 years. In the next 5 years, 750 crore youth loans will be distributed among 2 lakh youth and 2 lakh 50 thousand youth will be made self-employed. In the fourth industrial revolution era, polytechnic and vocational institutes are being organized by creating new technology education opportunities to exploit the developing employment opportunities at home and abroad. For the intellectual development of the youth, libraries will be established in each upazila, democratic, cultural and physical training centres and 'Smart Youth Hubs' will be developed.
Entrepreneurs will be assisted by setting up special cells to provide loans on easy terms and low interest from various commercial banks, specialised banks and financial institutions through the revolving loan fund of Youth Development Department. Schemes will be undertaken to bring underprivileged and physically challenged youths under educational and medical assistance. The work of developing the Sheikh Hasina National Youth Development Institute as a centre for excellence will continue through the development of infrastructure and the recruitment of adequate manpower. Loans on soft terms, necessary subsidies, technical advice and policy support will be provided for setting up commercial dairy and poultry farms for employment generation.
More than two million people are re-joining the labour force in the country every year. One of the goals of the Awami League is to create employment opportunities for each of them through the development of the industrial sector and the establishment of new industries. Cottage, small, and medium industries can create the most employment opportunities. The sector will be made stronger, well-organised, and dynamic by removing barriers, providing training for management skills, and reducing dependence on foreign human resources. To attract the youth of the country, this year's manifesto has given maximum importance to industrialisation and employment.
Awami League has adopted a special action plan for the employment of youth and youth. Self-employment measures will be taken in the village to reduce the tendency of the young people of the village to go to the city. The government will give all possible support to encourage the youth in agriculture, industry, and business. At the village level, agricultural machinery service centres, and workshops will be set up to expand rural mechanization services including machinery repair, and through these, productive employment programmes will be expanded by training rural youth and agricultural entrepreneurs.
In addition to all these, investment assistance in loans and materials to private sector marginal and small entrepreneurs to manufacture and market light machinery will continue. Employment opportunities will be expanded for able-bodied, qualified youth and youth. 31 lakh youth in the district and upazila will be trained and the programme will continue to provide support for their self-employment. Steps have been taken to create employment for an additional 1.5 million people by the year 2030. The youth unemployment rate will be reduced to 3.0 per cent by 2028 from 10.6 per cent last time.
Adequate technical training is being provided to illiterate and less educated youth and youth. Continuation of micro-credit facility on easy terms for trained self-employed entrepreneurs and increase in loan amount. To create employment for the youth, the National Service Programme will be gradually expanded to all upazilas of the country. To strengthen the training program at the grassroots level, the 'Youth Training and Employment Center' will be established in every upazila. The proportion of 17.8 per cent of youth out of education, training and employment will be reduced to below 7 per cent in the next five years. In the next five years, 750 crore youth loans will be distributed among 2 lakh youth, and 2 lakh 50 thousand youth will be made self-employed.
To ensure the overall welfare of the youth, programmes have been launched in all the districts and upazilas of the country to motivate the youth, provide training, and self-reliance by taking post-training self-employment projects, providing youth loans, poverty alleviation etc. Therefore, intending to build a smart Bangladesh by 2041, the young people have voted in the election to build a smart Bangladesh by leading the country in the hands of Bangladesh Awami League.
The writer is a columnist and a researcher
