ICT expo shows hardware making capabilities of Bangladesh

The three-day Bangladesh ICT Expo 2016 kicked off yesterday at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) to showcase Bangladesh’s prospects of becoming a "hardware manufacturing" nation.
AHM Mustafa Kamal, minister for planning, inaugurated the expo which is jointly organised by the Bangladesh Computer Samiti (BCS) and the ICT division of the ministry of post, telecommunication and ICT. This is the second time the expo is being organised. The first was held at the same venue on June 15-17 last year.
Kamal said Bangladesh would enter a new era of business and development with hardware manufacturing.
“Without digital revolution, the development process will be stagnant. The world is on the verge of total automation. We have to prepare ourselves for that,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Junaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for ICT, said over the last couple of years, Bangladesh has made significant progress in the software sector. Before the AL-led government came to power in 2009,  software exports hovered around a mere USD30 million. Now, it has increased by over 10 times in the last seven years.
“We would like to write the same success story in the hardware sector. We need a lot of hardware, including computers, laptops, tabs and smart phones and we want to assemble and manufacture on our own soil instead of importing them,” he said.
Palak said during the Hasina government’s tenure in 1996, computer hardware was exempted from VAT and tax. “That created the IT revolution in Bangladesh,” he added.
He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wants to promote local products. “She doesn’t want the country to be import-oriented. As part of her dream of creating a Digital Bangladesh, she instructed the ministry as well as industry stakeholders to take initiatives to make the country a hardware manufacturing nation,” he said.
The expo, which will be a meeting place of industry stakeholders, experts and potential investors, is another initiative to show our intent of becoming a hardware manufacturing nation, he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Shyam Shundar Sikdar, secretary of the ICT ministry, said Bangladesh has become the most attractive destination in South Asia for investment. “Through this expo we will also try to showcase how attractive Bangladesh is for foreign investment,” he added.

ICT expo shows hardware making capabilities of Bangladesh

The three-day Bangladesh ICT Expo 2016 kicked off yesterday at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) to showcase Bangladeshs prospects of becoming a hardware manufacturing nation. AHM Mustafa Kamal, minister for planning, inaugurated the expo which is jointly organised by the Bangladesh Computer Samiti (BCS) and the ICT division of the ministry of post, telecommunication and ICT. This is the second time the expo is being organised. The first was held at the same venue on June 15-17 last year. Kamal said Bangladesh would enter a new era of business and development with hardware manufacturing. Without digital revolution, the development process will be stagnant. The world is on the verge of total automation. We have to prepare ourselves for that, he said. Speaking on the occasion, Junaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for ICT, said over the last couple of years, Bangladesh has made significant progress in the software sector. Before the AL-led government came to power in 2009, software exports hovered around a mere USD30 million. Now, it has increased by over 10 times in the last seven years. We would like to write the same success story in the hardware sector. We need a lot of hardware, including computers, laptops, tabs and smart phones and we want to assemble and manufacture on our own soil instead of importing them, he said. Palak said during the Hasina governments tenure in 1996, computer hardware was exempted from VAT and tax. That created the IT revolution in Bangladesh, he added. He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wants to promote local products. She doesnt want the country to be import-oriented. As part of her dream of creating a Digital Bangladesh, she instructed the ministry as well as industry stakeholders to take initiatives to make the country a hardware manufacturing nation, he said. The expo, which will be a meeting place of industry stakeholders, experts and potential investors, is another initiative to show our intent of becoming a hardware manufacturing nation, he said. Speaking on the occasion, Shyam Shundar Sikdar, secretary of the ICT ministry, said Bangladesh has become the most attractive destination in South Asia for investment. Through this expo we will also try to showcase how attractive Bangladesh is for foreign investment, he added.