Bangladesh's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by 6.5% in FY2024, compared to the 6.0% growth in the previous fiscal year, according to the latest Asian Development Bank (ADB) report released o. Wednesday. The report "Asian Development Outlook (ADO) September 2023" states that the slightly faster growth forecast reflects an improvement in domestic demand and better export growth due to economic recovery in the euro area. The ADB also mentioned that inflation in Bangladesh is projected to ease from 9 per cent in FY2023 to 6.6 per cent in FY2024.
The existing policies implemented by the government over the last several years have been fruitful towards boosting the country’s economic growth. As a result of the government’s various endeavours, country's major macroeconomic indicators including the growth rate of GDP have remarkably increased and Bangladesh has set a target to achieve 8.51 percent GDP growth by 2025. However, in order to achieve the target of 8.51 per cent gross GDP growth rate by 2025 and make this growth more inclusive, the government must ensure job security and create job opportunities in the private sector
In order to sustain the country’s
economic growth and make it
more inclusive, the government
must take initiatives for creating
more jobs both in the public
and private sectors
While the latest piece of news is encouraging, the issue of inclusive growth must not be ignored. The rich-poor divide has been growing over the past decade and the fruits of the robust growth have not trickled down to the masses at the expected level. Inequality of wealth between rich and poor has been on an increasing trend. Hence , in order to sustain the country’s economic growth and make it more inclusive, the government must take initiatives for creating more jobs both in the public and private sectors.
In Bangladesh, hundreds of thousands of students pass out of colleges and universities with higher degrees every year but many of them remain unemployed. Boosting private sector investment can change this scenario and make the growth more meaningful. In order to shove Bangladesh to the next level of growth, private investment has to be promoted further.
