A strong ICT infrastructure has been built in the country in the last 12 years.
Bangladesh State Minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Junaid Ahmed Palak said the government is working towards ensuring internet access for all by 2021 and digitizing 90 per cent of government services.
Speaking at a press conference organised by the Information and Communication Technology Department, the State Minister said a strong ICT infrastructure has been built in the country in the last 12 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, which has expanded information and communication technology to rural areas. 3,600 unions in the country are now covered by broadband internet connectivity.
He also said that internet will be ensured for all by 2021 and the development of ICT infrastructure, will be possible to keep office-court, medical services, education and business, entertainment and even court activities running online and social distance during the Corona epidemic.
The government will also tackle Corona using various digital platforms including Corona Portal, Covid Tracer, Covid-19 Tracker, Food for Nation, Health for Nation.
The state minister said 600 services have already been converted to digital services as part of the digitization of about 2,800 government services by 2021.
The government has introduced e-office activities to reduce the use of paper and pen in office activities. As part of this, e-documents were introduced in various government ministries and government offices to promote work dynamism, transparency, and accountability.
At present, more than 90,000 officials of more than 6,000 offices are using e-documents. To date, one crore 43 lakh files have been disposed of through e-document system.
Palak said Sheikh Russell Digital Lab has been set up in a total of 6,000 educational institutions in the country, including 15 in Saudi Arabia. Construction of Sheikh Russell Digital Lab is underway in another 5,000 educational institutions. Work is underway to establish 300 schools of the future. In the last 12 years, 1.5 million people have been turned into skilled human resources through training. By 2021, the number of jobs in the ICT sector will be around 20 lakhs. He said 118 startup representatives from 44 start-ups have been allotted co-working spaces and innovation hubs have been set up in 137 universities to build start-ups and innovative culture.
