Two bills in JS to set up hi-tech based industries

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=125841

Two bills in JS to set up hi-tech based industries
Staff Correspondent

Two bills were placed in parliament yesterday seeking to enact laws for growth and development of hi-tech based industries in a planned way and innovation of sustainable and environment-friendly technologies in agriculture, environment, medicine and industries.

State Minister for Science and ICT Yeafesh Osman placed the bills with the provisions for establishing hi-tech parks in different parts of the country and a national institute of biotechnology for carrying out research.

Yeafesh also placed three other bills on National Science and Technology Museum, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Novo Theatre and Bangladesh National Scientific and Technical Documentation Centre (BANSDOC).

The organisations were created and are being managed and run through government circulars.

In defence of enacting legislations for the three organisations, he said as a special type of organisation, the Bangabanhdu Novo Theater needs its own law and regulations for taking important decisions for its development.

On the other hand, national science and technology museum has been facing difficulties to run its activities as an autonomous body for lack of its own law. Similarly, BANSDOC also needs its own law, he added.

All the five bills were sent to the parliamentary standing committee on science and ICT ministry for scrutiny and to submit reports.

Explaining aims and objectives of Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority bill, Yeafesh said it is very important to expand and develop export oriented hi-tech based industries to ensure socio-economic development.

Usage of hi-technology will create huge employment opportunities and also stop brain drain, he said.

“It will be possible to transform Bangladesh into a middle income country through expansion and development of hi-technologies,” Yafesh said.

He said the government has already decided to establish country’s first hi-tech park at Kaliakoir in Gazipur and such parks will be established gradually in other parts of the country.

With enactment of the proposed legislation, the government will set up hi-tech park authority that will work for establishing parks under both government and private initiatives and their proper management and development.

The authorities will have a high profile board of governors led by the prime minister. Ministers of science and ICT, industries, commerce, finance, home, post and telecommunications, land, education, forest and law will be members of the board, according to a provision of the bill.

The bill also proposed a 15-member executive committee led by the science and ICT minister to enforce the proposed legislation.

The proposed law also offered tax holiday and bonded facilities to the industries established in the park for carrying out their export and import activities. It also proposed to empower the government to suspend enforcement of any existing laws to set up and develop hi-tech parks and attract investment.

In rationale of the bill on biotechnology, the state minister said it is imperative to set a national institute of biotechnology to ensure Bangladesh’s socio-economic development through usage of biotechnology.

With enactment of the proposed legislation, the government will establish a national institute of biotechnology, which will be run by an 18-member board of directors led by the science and ICT secretary.