Faiz Ahmed Tayyab said, “This time we have all tried to go beyond celebrating a mere day and celebrate World Telecommunication and Information Society Day on a different level. During the previous government, this day was downgraded from Category A to Category C to give importance to the date of a leader’s return home. ‘Earlier, state money was wasted by allocating unnecessarily large sums of money in the budget and showing tasty projects. The current government has come out of that culture. This time, the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day program is being organized on a limited scale at the BTRC office itself – to reduce government expenses.’ We have put in several exceptional activities this time, among which the most notable is the honoring of children who have brought honor to the country in the past year. In addition, a hackathon competition was organized by the Military Institute of Science and Technology with the participation of students from various schools, colleges and universities, where a significant number of competitors presented their ideas.
The Special Assistant to the Principal Advisor said, the speed of digital transformation in today’s world is incredible. At this speed, our lifestyle and the nature of employment are constantly changing, and information technology is playing an incredible role. Goal 10 of the Sustainable Development Goals is to reduce inequality, which is completely consistent with the theme of this year’s World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. We can see that we have about 1 million freelancers, of which the number of female freelancers is significantly less. At the same time, the number of women is also less in terms of internet users. That is, women’s participation in digital government and related indexes and women’s participation in both access to digital platforms and access to digital services is low. Our digital transformation policies need to be coordinated in detail. Our women are lagging behind in various fields, so the government is working to bring them forward. We need to reach out to our stakeholders with the help of media workers, he added.
Responding to a journalist’s question about the project, Faiz Ahmed Tayyab said that various public welfare initiatives are being implemented within the existing facilities without increasing flashy projects and reducing government expenditure.
Responding to a journalist’s question about the ICT budget, ICT Secretary Sheesh Haider Chowdhury said that the budget this time will be lower than last time due to the elimination of unnecessary expenses.
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman Major General (Retd.) Md. Emdad-ul-Bari said, “Reducing internet prices is not just a decision of BTRC; it is a matter for the entire industry. We want to open the market for traders. Market prices will be determined through competition.”
Responding to a journalist’s question whether World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is being organized across the country, Md. Zahirul Islam, the routine secretary of the Posts and Telecommunications Department, said, “Although there are no various events, a hackathon competition has been organized with students from various schools, colleges and universities in the country.”
