Tk 5,000cr special fund sought for ICT sector

Several trade bodies related to Information and Communications Technology have called for a special stimulus package worth Tk 5,000 crore for the information communication technology or ICT sector.

Syed Almas Kabir, president of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), placed this demand in favour of five trade bodies of the sector in a pre-budget virtual press conference on Thursday.

Though the government has already declared about Tk 100,000 crore stimulus package to tackle the Covid-19 fallout impacting the country's economy, ICT companies might not be able to comply with the banks' demands, said Kabir.

President of Bangladesh Computer Society (BCS) Shahid Ul Monir, President of Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) MA Hakim,Wahidur Rahman Sharif, President of Bangladesh Association of Call Centers and Outsourcing (BACCO) and Shomi Kaiser, President of E-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (E-CAB) spoke at the press conference on behalf of their respective organizations.

The representatives also demanded that the ICT sector should be given priority in the upcoming budget.

The sector representatives also urged the government and the people to come forward and use local software and IT services.