Finance Minister Shah A M S Kibria yesterday said all policies of the government are directed towards poverty alleviation and this Is already making headway in easing the life of the poor In the country, reports

Distributive Justice, microcredit and policy interventions of the government have been successful in raising millions of poor above the poverty line, the minister said, while speaking as chief guest at the inaugural session of a public forum on "Poverty Reduction Strategy at BIAM in the clly

The minister said the government has allocated 24 per cent of the budget to the social

sector in the current fiscal, which is the ever-hlghest. for improving the social condition of the people. The rate of inflation Is now less than 4 per cent, he said.

He said along with the NGOs. various government agencies have also been distributing ml cro-credlt in the current fiscal to raise the standard of life of the poor. BRDB has distributed Tk 4.4 billion. PKSF Tk 6.G bil lion and NCBs Tk 3 billion as micro-credit, he Informed the forum.

Kibria spoke of the success of the government efforts Indlf ferent sectors and said population growth rate has come down to 1 6 per cent from 3 per cent, child mortality rate has de-

creased. school enrollment and average per capita food intake increased and life expectancy is up.

We have been maintaining a stable macro-economic man agement which helped us survive after the devastating floods of '98 and the economic debacle that shuttered economies of many Southeast Asian conn tries, the minister said.

Discarding the data presented by an economist during the TV question hour with Prime Minister on February 25. the minister said that Indus trial credit Increased by 10 per cent, industrial production grew by 5.23 per cent and government borrowing was 2.387 crorp.