‘Digital Bangladesh’ is at present a buzz word to the people of all classes in Bangladesh. It means digitalizing Bangladesh by ensuring an ICT-based society where information will be available on line and where all possible tasks of the government and other non-government or semi-government organizations will be performed using digital technology. Malting a digital Bangladesh was in the election manifesto (2008) of Awami League, one of the leading political parties in Bangladesh. In the 9th National Parliamentary election, Awami League declared to develop Bangladesh into a digital country by the next ‘decade.
Bangladesh is an independent country. She achieved her freedom more than 38 years ago. But still she is burdened with many problems like poverty, overpopulation, unemployment, corruption, food deficiency, natural calamities, power crisis etc. Considering all these, the present government has aimed at making digital Bangladesh to overcome most of these problems. The motto of digital Bangladesh is to establish technology-based digital governance, e-commerce, e-agriculture, e-production, e-education, etc. emphasizing the overall development of the country and the nation.
The benefits of digital Bangladesh are many. If we can establish a digital Bangladesh, corruption will be drastically reduced by enhancing transparency and accountability. It will save people’s time and money; and will make people more enterprising and thus will reduce unemployment Problem. It will make people think globally and connect them with the whole world-economically, politically, socially, academically and even culturally. It will open doors for the people to improve their conditions. It will also improve banking and financial activities. Money transfer and transaction of business could be made within seconds by clicking the mouse of a computer. Agriculture, health, education, commerce all these sectors will be by highly benefited by making Bangladesh a digital one.
For implementing this dream of Digital Bangladesh, government has to take certain initiatives. First of all uninterrupted power supply has to be ensured. We have to develop computer network infrastructures through the country. We have to train our people to acquire ICT skill and ensure equitable access to digital government services by all strata of the society. Digital will curb crime and corruption and pave the way for our country’s rapid development. So, to see our Country a digital one, government’s commitments and people’s co-operation are urgently required. Government should take steps to spread ICT education throughout the country. Our education should be computer based and in primary and secondary schools students should get easy excess to the computer.
Making a digital Bangladesh by 2021 is one of the big commitments of the present government. If the government values this commitment, our dream of a digital Bangladesh will be materialized and our country will be able to make progress in all sectors by leaps and bounds. It will be no exaggeration ft we say that the implementation of a digital Bangladesh can help us uphold ourselves as one of the developed countries in the world by the next decade.
