FINANCIAL YEAR 2001- 2005 ACTION PLAN

SHORT-TERM (FY 2001-2002)

A. Ministry of Information Technology (MOIT) will be created with the prime responsibility of assisting socio-cultural-economic development of Bangladesh through the use of Information Technology.

B. The Ministry, headed by a full Cabinet Minister, will have the following IT related functional responsibilities:

                   Human Resource Development
                   Telecommunication
                   Legislation
                   IT Industry

C. The Minister of Information Technology shall be appointed from amongst private sector professionals having proven track record of positive contributions in the field of Information Technology, as well as high standard of managerial capabilities and ethical standard.

D. National Council of Information Technology (NCIT) will be created as the field organization of MOIT to implement the decisions of the MOIT, as well as to act as the liaison between the IT Industry and the Government.

E. Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) will create an IT Cell, similar to the Textile Cell, to coordinate the activities of exports of IT products and services.

          F. The compensation package of the technical staff appointed on Government payroll for all
          IT jobs will be in line with the local market.

2.  HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

1. An Institute of Information Technology, in line with Institute of Business Administration, with collaboration from one of the renowned Universities of the United States of America (say, Stanford, Berkley, Carnegie-Mellon, Yale, MIT etc.) will be set up. This Institute will have the capacity to produce 1,000 IT Professionals in the first year of operation.
2. Capacity of IT related Departments of all existing Public Universities and Institutes will be increased so as to admit at least 1,000 Students from the 2002-2003 academic session.
3. Shortages of IT teachers in the interim period will be made up by hiring appropriate faculty members from overseas. NRBs shall be preferred.
4. IT Related Distance Education Scheme of the Bangladesh Open University will be expanded through the use of TV and Internet. Private TV Channels should be encouraged to start IT Education Program.
5. Syllabus and Course Curricula of IT related program of all the Universities and Institutes shall be reviewed and revised every two years in consultation with the IT Industry and NCIT, to keep up with the latest development.
6. All private IT Education and Training Institutions will have to be accredited with NCIT which will devise standard testing and certification methods for these Institutes. Such methodologies shall be reviewed and revised every two year.
7. All employees in Government Payroll shall undergo Computer Literacy Program, the result of which shall form part of the employees' Annual Confidential Report, and impact the career progression.
8. Nationalized Commercial Banks (NCB) will be required to sanction loans to students, teachers and educational institutions for purchase of Computers and Peripherals, at 5 % simple rate of interest repayable in 36 equal installments.
9. NCBs will extend financial assistance to any individual undertaking appropriate IT education & training, at 5% simple rate of interest payable in 36 installments with a moratorium of one year after the completion of
   the course.
10. Local IT Education and Training Institutes will enjoy Tax Holiday for 5 years.
11. English Language is should be enriched for IT Education Program.

1. Private Sector will be allowed to create Broadband Telecommunication Backbone within the country, as well as High Speed International Gateway.
2. BTTB will develop national access platform for more efficient Internet use.
3. Internet Exchange will be set up for national inter-connectivity amongst ISPs.
4. All Analog Telephone Exchange will be converted to Digital.   
5. Internet Access cost will be brought down to Taka 0.20 per minute.
6. A Software Technology Center (STC) will be created immediately within Dhaka city in a rented building which will be fully equipped with internal Fiber Optic Cabling, High Speed Internet Gateway & all other necessary facilities. Local and NRB entrepreneurs may be able to rent the office space at a concessional rate, for development of Software and IT Services.

1. 1 % of the Gross Domestic Product will be spent every year on migration of manual work to computerization in Government, Semi-Government, Autonomous Bodies and Sector Corporations.
2. Each Ministry will have a Budgetary Allocation for computerization of its activities each year.
3. Import of Foreign Applications Software, in areas where local expertise exist or can be developed, shall be discouraged.
4. Local Application Software will get a 15 % price preference over equivalent foreign products. The experience requirement will be relaxed for local Application Software and Developer.
5. Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) will set up Marketing Offices for helping the domestic IT Industry in entering into export market. Such Marketing Offices will be operated by IT Marketing Professionals from the private Sector, and be accountable for achieving quantifiable targets. Initially two such Offices will be set up; one in the U.S.A. and the other in the U.K.
6. EPB will support local IT industry for participation in regional and international Trade fairs.
7. Every Government Ministry will have its own interactive Web site before the end of June 2002.
8. Pilot projects in at least two Government procurements, including tender documents, tender submission, technical evaluation, financial offer, contract award etc. will be processed through the Web Sites. This will ensure transparency and accountability.
9. To encourage use of IT in the private sector 100% depreciation should be allowed (Hardware, Software etc.).
10. A financial evaluation of IT projects by the financial Institutions should be done considering the unique nature of the Industry. Human Resources, product & marketing development expenditures for at least two years will be considered.
11. Employee stock option plan (ESOP) will be incorporated in the relevant taxation and company Laws with a view to retaining IT professionals in the country.

1. Relevant Rules and Regulations of Banking Acts will be amended to accommodate payment through Credit/Debit Cards, for both domestic and international E-Commerce.
2. Appropriate Cyber Laws will be enacted for all aspects of IT activities including protection of Data Security & Interoperability through Encryption and standards, as well as regulating undesirable text, data and image traffic.
3. Existing Labor and Manpower Laws and Regulations will not be applicable for IT professionals for overseas assignments.

6. INDEPENDENT CONSULTANTS

1. All individuals, firms and companies interested to offer consulting services for computerization, shall be encouraged to register with NCIT.
2. Independent Consultants must not have any financial relationship with any IT Vendor.
3. Appointment of foreign Consultants for GOB funded projects will be discouraged in cases where local expertise are available.

7. NON-RESIDENT BANGLADESHIS (NRB)

1. Non-Resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) will be encouraged to start IT related activities in Bangladesh.

8. NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS (NGO)

1. If any NGO intends to do business in IT field, that organization must register itself under Company Act, and comply with Taxation & other relevant Rules and Regulations as applicable to other business organizations.

    

   MID-TERM (FY 2002-2005)
   

   1. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

1. As the volume of work increases, additional manpower and physical facilities will be provided to MOIT and NCIT.
2. MOIT, though a Government Ministry, will act as a World class professional IT organization.

        2. HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

1. The Institute of Information Technology will be expanded and its capacity increased to produce 5,000 Graduates per year.
2. The capacity of IT related Departments of all Public Universities and Institutes will be increased, as shown below:

                            2003-2004         -    4,000 students per session
                            2004-2005         -    6,000 students per session

3. Foreign Faculty Members will be phased out by the year 2004-2005. However, some teachers will be retained for imparting knowledge only in the fields of new and emerging technologies.
4. Computer Literacy' Course will be made a compulsory subject for Higher Secondary Certificate Examination.
5. New recruitment in any Government, Semi-Government, Autonomous Bodies and Sector Corporations will be restricted to Computer Literate candidates only.

        3. INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

1. Tele-density will be increased from the existing 5/1000 to 50/1000, in phases, with investment from both Public and Private Sectors.
2. All Schools, Colleges, Universities and other Educational Institutions will be connected to the Internet, free of charge, and students will have free access to the same.
3. Two Software Technology Villages (STV) will be created, one around Dhaka City and another in other suitable area of the country, with facilities such as Fiber Optic Communication Cabling, High Speed Internet Gateway, with all other modern facilities. Office space will be leased to the IT entrepreneurs at a concessional rent, for development of Software and IT Services.
4. Cyber Kiosks will be established in every villages to allow access to information by the citizens and to facilitate citizen-government interaction.
5. E-mail facilities will be introduced in all post offices throughout the country in order to provide e-post services to the people including the remote villagers.

        4. IT INDUSTRY

1. All Government, Semi Government, Autonomous Bodies, Sector Corporations, Commercial Banks, Insurance Companies, Leasing Companies must switch over to computerized operation in replacement of manual system by 2005.
2. Use of Electronic Cash Register for sale of all items under VAT, will be made compulsory from July 2003.
3. Domestic IT Industry will have an Export Target of US $ 2 (Two) Billions by June 2005.
4. EPB will open additional Marketing Offices in Germany, Japan and Australia.
5. Manufacturing facilities for Computer Hardware such as Key Board, Mother Board, Hard Disk Drive, Modem, I/O Cards etc. will be created within the country, preferably in collaboration with internationally renowned manufacturers.

        5. LEGAL

1. Bangladesh will be represented in Unicode Consortium.
2. Unicode Standard 3.0, released in September 1999, classifies Bangla as an Indian Script. This will be corrected to show 'Bangla' as a Bangladesh Script.
3. National Standards for Unicode compliant Bangla Key Board and Font will be developed.

        6. INDEPENDENT CONSULTANTS

1. Computerization of Government, Semi-Government, Autonomous Bodies and Sector Corporations will be arranged under the supervision of a number of Consultants, one each from another Government Department, NCIT and Independent Consultants.
2. Independent Consultants will form into a forum to exchange information and knowledge on a continuous basis.

source: BASIS