The Executive Council of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) yesterday revived the Bangabandhu Fellowship on Science & ICT project, which was scrapped during the previous BNP-led four-party alliance government.

The Ecnec approved a total of six projects, including the fellowship project, worth Tk 1,359 crore at a meeting, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

Officials said the meeting revived the fellowship project allocating Tk 60 crore for 200 researchers at PhD level at home and abroad.

"The project was originally

taken during the previous tenure (1996-2001) of the Awami League government, which the previous BNP government had scrapped, forcing many fellows researching abroad to return home," Planning Secretary Habibullah Majumder told reporters after the meeting.

The meeting, he said, also approved two otherprojects in power sector at a cost of Tk 764 crore to minimise the system loss in Dhaka with Power Development Board (BPDB) and DESCO being the implementing agencies.

Three other projects were related to textile and jute ministry and women and

children affairs ministry.

Finance Minister and alternative Ecnec chair AMA Muhith, Planning Minister AK Khondker, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam, Labour and Manpower Minister Khondker Mosharaf Hossain, Water Resources Minister Ramesh Chandra Sen, Commerce Minister Faruq Khan, Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain, Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan, Prime Minister's advisers Dr Mashiur Rahman, Dr ModasserAli and Dr Alauddin Ahmed and State Minister for Power and Energy Enamul Haque attended the meeting.