e-News® | The NEWS Company…DHAKA, Feb 2, 2015 : The cabinet today approved the draft of the ‘National Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Policy-2015’ aimed at development and promotion of ICT sector to ensure its effective use to achieve nation’s development goals. The approval was given in the weekly meeting of the cabinet held at Bangladesh Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
Briefing reporters after the meeting Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said the policy is an updated version of the ICT Policy-2009 which has been revised with the opinions of all stakeholders, ministries, experts and professionals.
“The ICT policy will be less regulatory but more developmental and promotional,” he said, adding that the policy will be a guideline for the sector to ensure comprehensive and effective use of ICT to materialize the government’s vision to make Bangladesh a middle income country by 2021 and a developed one by 2041. The cabinet secretary said the main vision of the policy is to promotion and multipurpose use of ICT to ensure transparency and accountability of the government, human resources development, ensure public services through public and private sector participation and achieve national development goals by 2021 and 2041.
The policy has ten special objectives, 56 strategic themes and 306 action programmes which will be implemented by different organizations under short, medium and long term timeframe by 2016, 2018 and 2021. Cabinet members, advisors, state ministers in charge of different ministries and concerned secretaries attended the meeting. The cabinet was informed about the official visit of the Information Minister to Malaysia from August 17 to 24, 2014. The meeting was also informed about the visit of the Information Minister to Tehran from December 1 to 4 last year to attend 10th Session of Islamic Conference of Information Ministers (ICIM).
