Speakers in a discussion meeting told that ‘Digital Bangladesh’ announced by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been successfully implemented by BASIS members and other industrial actors of the private sector ecosystem. Now is the time to make ‘SMART Bangladesh’.
They made this expectation in a discussion meeting titled ‘SMART Bangladesh: Role of ICT Industry’ to highlight the contribution of Software and ITES sector to the national development of Bangladesh, organized by Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) in a city hotel on Sunday night.
Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology minister Mustafa Jabbar was present as chief guest in the meeting.
State Minister for Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, MP, State Minister for Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) were present as special guest.
Among others, Former President of BGMEA and Vice Chancellor of Asian University for Women Dr. Rubana Haque, Managing Director of Flora Telecom Limited Mostafa Rafiqul Islam Duke, BASIS President Mr. Russell T. Ahmed also spoke.
The success stories of the BASIS member organizations in the implementation of ‘Digital Bangladesh’ have been highlighted in the program.
One of the highlights of the event was the official inauguration of the “BASIS Contact Center.” The BTRC approved short code (16488) was introduced for the BASIS Contact Center to enable the members of the country’s top IT trade body to communicate with BASIS seamlessly and expeditiously.
BASIS expects that it will improve the membership service.
The event was sponsored by ADN Telecom and Flora Telecom.
UNISOFT Systems Limited, a concern of Smart Technologies (BD) Ltd, concluded a Collection and Recovery Management Solutions Software Agreement with IFIC Bank, the country’s leading private financial institution.
Managing Director of Smart Technologies (BD) Ltd Mohammad Zahirul Islam and Director Abu Mostofa Chowdhury Sujon were present on behalf of UNISOFT at the signing ceremony held at IFIC Bank’s head office in Motijheel, reads a press release.
On the other hand, IFIC Bank was represented by Deputy Managing Director and Head of Business Md Nurul Hasnat, Deputy Managing Director and Chief Credit Officer Shah Md Moinuddin, Deputy Managing Director and Chief of Operations and Information Technology Md Monitur Rahman, other senior officials including Head of HR Management AKRM Mostafa Kamal.
Under the agreement, UNISOFT Systems Limited will provide ‘Collection and Recovery Management Solutions’ (CRMS) software to all branches of IFIC Bank.
Commenting on the agreement, Mohammad Zahirul Islam, managing director, Smart Technologies (BD) Ltd and UNISOFT Systems Limited said: “IFIC Bank is one of the leading financial institutions in the country. We are really happy to have an agreement with such a reputed organization. We hope that our UNISOFT team will successfully complete this project and set a great example for the country’s software sector.”
The top IT trade body Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) on Sunday said the proposed budget did not reflect the industry’s demands for the development of the sector.
“The budget of the IT sector did not reflect BASIS’s proposal as expected,” vice president of the BASIS Abu Daud Khan said in a post-budget press conference in the city.
The allocation for the IT sector in the budget has increased by 16.69 per cent or about Tk 274 crore as compared to last year’s revised budget.
“However, there was no clear indication as to which projects or sectors the money would be spent on and how it would benefit the IT industry and its entrepreneurs.”
“At the same time, to encourage start-up entrepreneurs, the budget is exempting start-up entrepreneurs from all types of reporting obligations except filing income tax returns,” he said.
“We applaud the timely step taken by the government.”
“In order to encourage foreign investment in the IT sector, we had proposed extending the tax exemption from 2024 to 2030, but this was not taken into account in the budget,” Khan said.
On the other hand, local software and technology-based services (ITES) are now subject to a 5 per cent withholding value-added tax at the business level.
In addition, BASIS also proposed allocating at least 10 per cent of the budget for the internal development of all ministries and their affiliated agencies for the purchase of software and ITES.
“But we did not see any specific guideline in this year’s budget.”
Vice president for finance at BASIS Fahim Ahmed and Director of BASIS AKM Ahmedul Islam Babu were present at the press conference.
The Bangladesh Association of Call Centers and Outsourcing (BACCO) recently organised a day-long workshop on 4th Industrial Revolution in BPO Industry under the auspices of ICT Business Promotion Council (IBPC).
The workshop aims to enhancing the efficiency of the staff of BACCO member with 4th Industrial Revolution in BPO Industry.
Associate Professor of Dhaka University of ICT department Dr. BM Maynul Hossen conducted the workshop while BPO staff member attended the workshop.
Commerce Ministry additional secretary and Business Promotion Council Coordinator Abdur Rahim Khan was present as chief guest.
General Secretary of BACCO Touhid Hossain, Director Abu Daud Khan and Fazlul Haque spoke at the workshop as special guests.
Proper time management is important in this situation, as it is now extremely easy to participate in a variety of meetings and events as well as work from home with the help of technology.