Dec 12 to be observed as National ICT Day

The government yesterday decided to observe December 12 as the National Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Day.

The ruling Awami League formally declared the Digital Bangladesh concept in its election manifesto on December 12, 2008; therefore, the government has fixed the day as the National ICT Day.

A weekly cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Prime Minister's Office took the decision.

State Minister for ICT Junaid Ahmed Palak told The Daily Star that the acknowledgement will be a boost for Bangladesh's ICT sector. 

Briefing to reporters at the secretariat, cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam said National ICT Day would be considered as the "Kha" category day.

The cabinet also approved Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) Law, 2017 in principle in a bid to bring the organisation under a legal structure.

About the structure of the BMDA, the cabinet secretary said, there will be an advisory council, headed by the agriculture minister, that will have the responsibility to make policies.

Other members of the council will be made from 17 different categories including local parliament members, secretaries of the ministries of finance, agriculture, environment, power and energy, and water resources, BMDA chairman, and divisional commissioners of Rajshahi and Rangpur.

Besides, the cabinet adopted a resolution congratulating Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on her being chosen as one of the top honest and hard-working leaders in the world by the People's and Politics, a research firm of global politics.

It also adopted another resolution greeting British Labour Party MP and granddaughter of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, as she received an award for "Labour Newcomer MP of the year" at the annual Patchwork Foundation Awards in Westminster.