To say that remittance remains an integral part of our economy would be a gross understatement -- it is the second highest source of foreign currency earnings for Bangladesh, and the highest in terms of net earnings overall.
Therefore, it is extremely encouraging to see that, according to data from the central bank, remittance inflow has increased by over 20% in the July-February period of the current fiscal year, compared to the same period in the last fiscal.
While the favourable exchange rate against the dollar is certainly part of the reason for this growth, nevertheless, it is an impressive increase, and what must now be prioritized is ensuring that this becomes the trend moving forward, not just a blip.
To that end, credit also goes to the government and relevant authorities concerned for doing their part in the fight against illegal money transfers.
In the past, we as a newspaper have stated numerous times the need to crack down on these illegal channels of transferring money, and it is good to see that the central bank has indeed taken a stronger stance in recent times.
The government’s 2% cash incentive against the remitted amounts has also been a major factor to encourage legal channels of money transfer.
Our migrant workers are some of our hardest working people, and they remain extremely important to the overall health of our economy. It is important that Bangladesh continues to support them in every way possible, so that in turn, they can continue to help propel the economy to greater heights.
