Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurating "DigitalBangladesh: Plan of Connecting People" conference at Hotel
Radisson in the city on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said her government has taken massive programmes to bring all Union Parishad offices under fibre optic network for introducing improved communications system in rural Bangladesh.
"Initially, 100 Union Parishad offices have been selected for connecting those with fibre optic network while more 1,000 Union Parishads would be brought under the network to this end within the next one year," she said.
The Prime Minister said this while inaugurating the "Digital Bangladesh: Plan of Connecting People" organised by Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications at Radisson Water Garden Hotel in the capital yesterday morning.
Internationally reputed IT expert and Computer Scientist Sajib Ahmed Wazed presented theme paper on the topic in the function presided over by Posts and Telecommunications Minister Raji Uddin Ahmed Raju. Among others, Secretary General of International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Dr Hamadoun I Toure, Chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Maj Gen (Rtd) Zia Ahmed and Posts and Telecommunications Secretary Sunil Kanti Bose spoke on the occasion.
The Prime Minister said under the scheme all hospitals and schools would be brought under computer network to ensure health services of the people as well as making the country's education system time befiting and modern one to cope with the present IT based world.
In this context, she said computer with wave camera and internet facilities has been provided to all upazila hospitals while 1,500 laptops were distributed among the country's educational institutes so far towards fulfilling the government vision to make a digital Bangladesh by 2021.
Sheikh Hasina said her government will set up computer labs in all educational institutes in phases to this end.
Listing her government's various pragmatic steps for expansion of IT across the country, she said computer labs have so far been set up in 128 upazila across the country and this would be expanded up to all upazila in phases for connecting people with communications network.
Sheikh Hasina said Community E-Centre has been set up in five upazilas of the country so far and in phases all upazilas would be brought under the programmes gradually.
The Prime Minister said her government has already approved ICT Policy-2009 and formulated ICT Act-2009 to expedite the process in flourishing ICT industry in the country.
Elaborating her government's vision for expansion of IT across the country, she said it has taken a programme to set up "e-Centre for Rural Community" in 8,500 post offices in different nock and corners in Bangladesh.
She said steps have been taken to provide modern video conferencing facilities connecting cabinet, all 64 Deputy Commissioners, seven Divisional Commissioners offices with the Prime Minister's office to facilitate communications among them.
However, she said necessary infrastructures are being built to set up Hi-Tech Park in Gazipur along with strengthening telecommunications network to bring the entire country into e-Governance.
The Prime Minister expressed the hope that an IT based Bangladesh would be built up with the concerted efforts under public and private sectors partnership saying that it not possible only by the government to implement these huge programmes.
Sheikh Hasina expressed her vow to build a modern and prosperous Bangladesh based on knowledge and technology by the year of 2021 when Bangladesh will celebrate the Golden Jubilee of its independence.
Calling upon all to come forward to build a modern and technology base Bangladesh, she said the dreams would come true if all concerned work unitedly to this end.
Speaking on the occasion, Secretary General of International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Dr Hamadoun I Toure said inclusion of digital technology would be a key of Bangladesh's development in the next decade (2010-2020).
"Bangladesh will lag behind in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) especially in health and education sectors if it is not included in the digital technology in the present technology based modern world," he asserted.
Appreciating the steps taken by the present government of Bangladesh to turn the country into a digital one, Toure said the Vision-2021 of the government will come true under the able leadership of Sheikh Hasina. "I see a leadership in the country puting in place to build a digital Bangladesh by 2021," he added.
Pointing to rise of various types of cyber crimes in the present digital world, the ITU chief underlined the need for taking concerted efforts to prevent the crimes like child pornography and global terrorism.
In this context, he stressed on formulating technical framework to this end. He said that ITU will provide all out support and to work with Bangladesh to implement its vision for building a digital Bangladesh by 2021.
In his theme paper, Sajib Ahmed Wazed termed telecommunications, as a backbone of digital Bangladesh saying that establishment of digital Bangladesh is simple impossible without improvement of telecommunications.
He said digital Bangladesh means to build a happy and prosperous country free from hunger and poverty as well as connecting people in all development programmes.
Sajib Wazed, the son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina elaborated technical aspects of the government's plans and programmes to make a digital Bangladesh by 2021 and how to provide government services electronically to the people.
In this context, he referred the present government's programmes to introduce e-governance, seting up IT parks, providing IT education and IT outsourcing towards building a digital Bangladesh.
Later, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated Digital Bangladesh "Building Generations Geniuses" by pressing a buton of computer.
Ministers, Advisers to the Prime Minister, Parliament members, IT experts and high government officials were present in the function.
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