& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Set targets to create social protection for the poor

BB chief says

Stab Business Report
The government should formulate specific safety net strategies to safeguard poor communities in the country, said Bangladesh Bank (BB) governor yesterday.
“Social safety net programmes play an important role in equitable and sustainable economic development by shielding the poor from slipping into vulnerability. It would help turn their potential into valuable human capital, contributing to economic growth and stability." said Dr Atiur Rahman.
"To eliminate poverty, the government should undertake specific strategies and targets to create social protection for the poor and disadvantaged.” he said.
"We should analytically look into the issue and formulate home-grown strategies to deliver effective results." he said. "The issue should be contextualised in political discussions to find ways to effectively reduce poverty."
He was speaking at a book launching ceremony, jointly organised by the World Bank and Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) at Spectra Convention Centre in Dhaka.
Two books -- "For Protection and Promotion by Margaret Grosh, lead social protection economist, and "Conditional Cash Transfer" by Ariel Fiszbein, chief economist of human development network of World Bank. - - were uncovered at the ceremony.
The central bank chief said the state is supposed to take responsibility of the socially and economically disadvantaged people and create a 'social ladder' for them through social safety net programmes.
“The institutional setup or governance structure of a country plays a pivotal role in effective implementation of social protection, which should have panacea for providing long term benefits,” said Rahman.
He said Bangladesh is one of the pioneer countries to introduce the social safety net programme in 1997. Presently, the government spends less than one percent of its GDP on social safety net programme. However, the amount is increasing gradually.
Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, former BB governor, suggests the government and international organisations restructure the safety net programme methods and extend it directly to the disadvantaged people for long-term poverty reduction.
He said the government should introduce social insurance programmes in addition to other programmes, like vulnerable group feeding (VGF) and vulnerable group development (VGD). The safety net programme should also include the urban unorganised labourers, Ahmed said.
He also said the government
should better monitor and coordinate the social safety net to make it effective.
Hossain Zillur Rahman, former adviser to the caretaker government and executive director of PPRC, suggested the government take a 100-day programme that will include creating new employment and school meal programmes.
In a keynote paper. Margaret Grosh said social safety net requires better administrative systems for better monitoring and implementation.
She said the social safety net programme is gaining popularity in developing and underdeveloped nations in recent years.
She revealed in her book that in 1997, Brazil and Bangladesh were the only two nations that introduced the social safety net programme. It has now spread to around 40 countries in the world.
Ariel Fiszbein said the conditional cash transfer (CCT) facility also gains popularity among the developing and underdeveloped nations, as it directly helps families to improve household condition.
He said the programme would not only help reduce consumption poverty, but also the scenario of the entire community.
Xian Zhu, country director of World Bank, and Dr M Mujeri, director of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, were also present at the ceremony.