Among others, PPRC Chairperson Hossain Zillur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Debapriya Bhattacharya, BRAC Institute of Governance and Development Professorial Fellow Selim Jahan, Transcom Group CEO Simeen Rahman, HSBC Bangladesh CEO Mahbub ur Rahman, Policy Exchange Chairman Masrur Reaz, TK Group Director Mohammad Mustafa Haider, BKMEA President Mohammad Hatem, Moulvibazar Traders’ Association General Secretary Golam Mowla, and Bangladesh Restaurant Owners Association Secretary General Imran Hassan addressed the roundtable, moderated by Prothom Alo Head of Online Shawkat Hossain.
The finance minister said, “We want to move away from the oligarchic economy. So that, every citizen has equal access to opportunities, meaning the economy is participatory and that its benefits reach everyone. Democratisation of the economy is our philosophy.”
He said a large segment of the creative economy remains outside the tax net. Blacksmiths, potters, weavers and many other traditional workers in rural areas have never been brought under the scope of the budget.
“Generation after generation, they have continued working, but their lives have not improved. These people will be brought under financial and technical support programmes. There will be a fund for them in the budget. They survive hand to mouth, but their products are lacking value addition,” he said.