2 sub-committees in the Parliamentary Committee formed headed by Tarana and Babu
Standing Committee on Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology of the Twelfth National Parliament has formed two sub-committees of four members to turn the state-owned telecom companies Teletalk, BTCL, TSS and the Department of Posts from loss-making to profitable, at the same time to provide necessary guidance on all the laws, regulations and amendments of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology and make new laws. At the same time, the second meeting of the committee recommended taking effective measures to set up paperless smart offices.
The meeting was chaired by the committee chairman and a member of Parliament Kazi Nabil Ahmed. State Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministry, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, BM Kabirul Haque, Md. Nazrul Islam Babu, Abdullah Nahid Nigar, Abu Saleh Mohammad Nazmul Haque, Tarana Halim and Md. Siddiqul Alam participated in the discussion. Besides, the secretaries of the Ministry of Post, Telecommunication and Information Technology, along with the heads of various departments and the relevant officials of the National Parliament Secretariat were present in the meeting.
According to the sources of the meeting, the progress of the implementation of the decisions of the previous meeting and the current steps and future plans in the construction of Smart Bangladesh announced by the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the activities undertaken by the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology were presented. Issues regarding Teletalk, BTCL, TSS and Department of Posts and Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited were discussed in detail. It was also recommended to take necessary steps to speed up the functioning of hi-tech parks in order to increase the quality of IT services in Bangladesh as well as take effective measures to set up paperless smart offices. The discussion praised the state-owned satellite company authorities for creating revenue streams by serving various channels and preventing wastage of foreign exchange. In the same way, the chief executives of the non-profit organizations faced the question. Meanwhile, the committee has asked to take effective steps to make Teletalk profitable, or to go for Public-Private Partnership (PPP). However, no recommendation was made in this regard.
A sub-committee of four members has been formed to give necessary directions regarding all the laws, regulations and new laws of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunication and Information Technology in consultation with the members present in the meeting and to give recommendations to turn loss-making organizations like Teletalk, BTCL, TSS and Department of Posts into profitable. Another four-member sub-committee was constituted to recommend necessary steps to be taken to convert the company into a profitable enterprise. Among them, a convening committee headed by Parliament Deputy Whip Nazrul Islam Babu and another convening committee headed by Tarana Halim have been formed on how to make the organizations under the ministry, including Teletalk, into profitable institutions.
