Govt Aims to Offer BDT 2-3k Smartphones to 50 Million People: Mahdi Amin

The government has initiated a special incentive scheme for local manufacturing to deliver affordable smartphones priced between BDT 2,000 and BDT 3,000 to around 50 million citizens, including farmers, laborers, and rickshaw pullers. Simultaneously, a mobile allowance for government officials is being introduced alongside a comprehensive master plan combining industry and trade to operationalize stagnant technology parks worth BDT 8,000 crore.

Special Advisor to the Prime Minister, Mahdi Amin, shared these developments during a press conference organized by the Prime Minister’s Press Wing at the Karabi Hall of the Prime Minister’s Office in Tejgaon on Wednesday (September 16). The briefing was chaired by Press Secretary to the Prime Minister, Abu Abdullah M Saleh.

Mahdi Amin highlighted that empowering youth and driving tech innovation remain priority sectors. A BDT 50-crore collateral-free, interest-free e-loan fund under Bangladesh Bank has been launched to identify and fund young entrepreneurs at the upazila level. Additionally, technical education has been made compulsory from class six and across National University curricula. Primary and secondary syllabi now feature four new practical books, while the 'Alpha' project aims to upskill 4.5 million individuals.

He further noted that a National ICT and Cyber Security Rating System has been instituted alongside joint international frameworks to combat online harassment against women. Solar panels are also being installed across school rooftops, and district-level meat processing centers are being set up to facilitate exports. Press Wing officials Atiqur Rahman Rumon, Mostafa Zulfiqar Hasan Shiplu, Md. Shujaddoula Sujan, Md. Zahidul Islam Roni, and Shahadat Swadhin were present at the conference. //DBTech/IH/NAP/SME//