United News of Bangladesh

The government has constituted an eight-member expert taskforce to assess the quality, transparency and accessibility of statistics produced by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). Chaired by Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman, Executive Chairman of the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), the taskforce will consult relevant stakeholders to devise specific, actionable recommendations aimed at strengthening the institution. The other members are: Former Director General of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics Dr. Mohammad Abdul Wazed, Executive Director of the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr. Fahmida Khatun, Chairman of the Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID) Dr. Mohammad Abdur Razzak, Professor of the ISRT of Dhaka University and President of the Bangladesh Statistical Association Dr. Syed Shahadat Hossain, Professor of the Department of Population Sciences of Dhaka University Dr. Mohammad Moinul Islam, Professor of the Department of Economics of University of Dhaka Dr. Atanu Rabbani And Research Director of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Dr. Mohammad Yunus. The taskforce will formulate recommendations on the quality, accounting system and transparency of all statistical activities of the BBS. Inflation increases slightly in March as non-food prices rise: BBS It will review the following issues in order to establish the survey management of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics on specific work rules: a. To establish a core survey list, the cost of which will be covered from the revenue sector; b. To formulate mandatory periodicity and pre-determined release calendar for these surveys; c. To determine the process for forming an advisory committee with national-level experts on relevant subjects in conducting various surveys, preparing accounts of national income and inflation, etc.; d. To entrust the head of the institution with the authority to publish regular reports on the results of various surveys, especially inflation and national income growth, etc. The taskforce will formulate recommendations for coordinating and harmonising the surveys and publications of BBS with the surveys and statistical publications conducted by various organisations under other ministries. It will formulate recommendations to systematically facilitate citizens' access to the statistical repository produced by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics in order to transform statistics into a Public Good. Inflation drops to 9.32pc in February: BBS It will also Review the draft prepared for the amendment of the Statistics Act, 2013, review the existing organisational structure and human resources of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and formulate recommendations to upgrade the institution to a strong and effective national statistical agency. The taskforce will submit a full report to the Planning Advisor within 90 days. The taskforce chairman will inform the Advisor about the progress of the work from time to time. The Statistics and Information Management Division will provide the necessary secretarial and infrastructural support to the taskforce in the performance of the described work.

The internal migrants now need to have the same policy attention as international migrants, said Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman, former adviser to the caretaker government, Wednesday. Before the pandemic expenditure growth was very strong across all household groups. The share of food in the expenditure bundle was decreasing, while the share of non-food items was increasing rapidly. These trends reversed during the pandemic, Dr C Rashaad Shabab, senior lecturer at the Department of Economics, the University of Sussex Business School, said. However, internal migrant households were best able to protect expenditure from adverse shocks. The expenditure of non-migrant households was the worst affected by adverse shocks during this period, he added. By 2020, the poverty rate among internal migrant households is very similar to non-migrant households. Thus migration has reduced inequality through social mobility. "Migration, especially internal migration, appears to enable households to protect expenditure against shortfalls and to prevent them from falling into poverty. It enhances social mobility and so is an important tool to reduce inequalities," Rashaad said. "Compared to 2017, the volume of remittance fell by 8 percent per household in nominal terms in 2020. When 5 percent inflation per year is added then the reduction in remittance in real terms is at 23 percent," said Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit Chairperson Professor Tasneem Siddiqui. The amount of remittances sent by female migrants increased by 16 percent in nominal terms, in real terms it reduced by 1.6 percent. Female internal and international migrants come from more disadvantaged backgrounds. They are more likely to be widowed and divorced and more likely to have lower levels of education, said Professor Tasneem. The experts were addressing the workshop "Impact of Migration on Transformation to Sustainability: Poverty and Development in Bangladesh" at a Dhaka hotel Wednesday. RMMRU presented the findings of a long-running panel survey of over 6,000 households, spanning 20 districts of Bangladesh, at the event. Md Shahidul Haque, former foreign secretary, commended the research for bringing internal migration so strongly to the policy arena for the first time. The research compared the economic sustainability of internal migrant, international migrant and non-migrant households. It found that among these groups internal migrant households are best able to protect expenditure against adverse climate and health shocks.

Zohura Begum, Ratnagarbha mother of academic, economist and policy maker Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman, passed away early Wednesday. He was 87.