Sandeep Mahajan

World Bank Senior Economist Sandeep Mahajan presented the keynote paper during a meeting with business leaders at the Federation Bhaban.

Sandeep Mohajan, senior economist of the World Bank (WB), while presenting a recent WB report on 'Bangladesh: Strategy for Sustained Growth' at the seminar said GDP growth of Bangladesh should be reached up to 7.5 percent for elevating the status of the country as an MIC. The seminar on 'Challenges for Bangladesh in becoming a Middle Income Country (MIC)' was organized jointly by the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and WB in the CCCI conference room with CCCI president Saifuzzaman Chowdhury in the chair.
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Sandeep Mohajan said proper implementation of first generation reform programmes, having huge entrepreneurs by creating congenial atmosphere for investment and human resource development, are some imperatives to achieve the target of becoming an MIC. In this context, he put emphasis on increased productivity in agriculture sector, steps for transforming labor-intensive industrial sectors from agriculture, adoption of open market economy rather than conservative ones and planned urbanization on a rapid pace. To achieve such long-term goals, he, however, suggested that Bangladesh should ensure good governance, supportive atmosphere for regulatory reforms, remove infrastructural impediments, build a sound economic management and formulate an effective macroeconomic policies.Speaking at the function, the CCCI president said WB's different programmes and assistance aiming at poverty alleviation and economic advancement of the country failed to a great context to yield desired benefit so far due to imposition of stiff prerequisites which often seemed as a barrier to socio-economic progress of the country. He termed "suicidal" the WB's proposals for adopting free trade policies and bringing down of highest tax slab at 15 percent by 2010. The CCCI president also differed with the Bank's proposals for indiscriminate denationalization of public sector enterprises and other organizations, split in the National Board of Revenue, new provision for classification of bank loans in present perspective of the country's economy. He called upon the WB authorities to provide financial assistance and loans to Bangladesh against its realistic heads and programmes with reasonable, soft and easy terms.

Bangladesh needs to increase its agro productivity and graduate the agriculture sector to labour-intensive industry to achieve MIC (Middle Income Country) status by 2016, World Bank (WB) senior economist Sandeep Mahajan told a seminar yesterday.

Bangladesh needs to increase its agro productivity and graduate the agriculture sector to labour-intensive industry to achieve MIC (Middle Income Country) status by 2016, World Bank (WB) senior economist Sandeep Mahajan told a seminar yesterday.

IMF resident representative Marijn Verhoeven and World Bank's senior economist for South Asia on poverty reduction and economic management Sandeep Mahajan were present at the press briefing.

World Bank's senior Economist Sandeep Mahajan said this while his meeting Bangladeshi Export Promotion Bureau's (BEPB) vice president Mir Shahabuddin Mohammad today.