In the midst of the pandemic, when global economies are suffering, our expatriates are relentlessly providing oxygen to our country’s economy by sending remittances through legal channels.
Now in order to sustain that, government wants to augment the current cash incentive to further encourage them and discourage the hundi channel for which government loses a huge amount of revenue. The related authorities have proposed to increase the incentive by one percent for the migrant workers who will send home US$500 or less.
The government should take necessary steps to increase
the speed at which the money can be remitted by the
expatriates to their loved ones back home
If the incentive is increased by one percent more, migrant workers earning small amounts and sending home money will get benefitted. Bangladeshi expatriates sent 36 percent more remittance in FY21 compared to the same period in the previous fiscal, when it was $18.20 billion, according to Bangladesh Bank data.
The idea of increasing incentive worked before and if implanted properly again along with other time befitting measures, country can earn more than $20 billion mark in a fiscal year as more incentive will encourage more expatriates to send their hard-earned money through legal channels.
Now government should make it count and work in a coordinated manner with other relevant stakeholders including the banking sector. The government can also take necessary steps to increase the speed at which the money can be remitted by the expatriates to their loved ones back home. Therefore, more inward remittance surge will not only help to add to our foreign exchange reserves but will also enhance our balance of payments.
