DRONA BANDYOPADHYAY
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, SALBONI GOVERNMENT COLLEGE
Our present world is gratifyingly welcoming the emergence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This revolution will make industrial production more technology driven and undeviatingly reduce its dependence on human intervention. The resultant effect will be exponential increase in productivity induced by tremendous advancement in scientific research and technological innovation.
Bangladesh is no more a country of despair and death though it is still struggling calamities and crises of different sorts and sets. Due to unthinkable achievement in socio-economic front Bangladesh is also preparing to embrace the momentous advent of Fourth Industrial Revolution to accelerate economic development and social progress. Both the Government and private entrepreneurs are steadily initiating policies and projects to harness the patterns and processes of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The policy makers and entrepreneurs should come forward to work out appropriate ways and means for the maximum utilization of technologies emanating from the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The concerned authorities should keep in mind that the industrial scenario is very strange in Bangladesh due to its solitary over-dependence on readymade garments sector. It will not be an exaggeration in saying that the entire economy of the country is largely linked with the export-oriented readymade garments industry. This is a grave economic reality for Bangladesh. It has profound vulnerabilities despite dispensing unruffled foreign exchange earnings. Since the entire readymade garments industry is export-oriented Bangladesh has an enduring problem attached with it. If the economies of various export destinations of Bangladesh face financial turmoil or socio-political upheaval this industry of prime exportable item will be in cavernous jeopardy. This probable hazard makes the base of Bangladesh economy extremely susceptible to external factors. Here lies the real challenge for Bangladesh to progress in coming decades. The critical over-dependence of the national economy of Bangladesh on its export of readymade garments and latter’s overwhelming role in the process of industrialization a risky and precarious actuality.
In the volatile scenario of international politics the economy is always the second most hapless victim after peace and stability. Due to war and other global conflicts economic recession and political instability takes place. Under these circumstances the readymade garments sector will be affected in colossal manner. Our prevailing international political arena is witnessing US-China protracting tensions and Russian invasion of Ukhraine. No one can prognosticate the ultimate outcome of these two catastrophic occurances. The economies like Bangladesh with large and unskilled populations and struggling for industrial development and poverty eradication are in great peril.
According to Sustainable Development Goal 9 (SDG 9) which is one of the seventeen (17) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 the world should approach and apprehend the future process of industrialization though resilient infrastructural development, sustainable growth and stimulating innovation. The future world will experience industrialization through greater social inclusion, maintenance of ecological balance and adoption of competitive skills. The industrial sector will grow through technology transfers and advanced innovations further. This is not only a commitment of United Nations but also a national imperative for its member states of which Bangladesh is an important one.
The topic of Fourth Industrial Revolution has touched the minds of policy makers, researchers and entrepreneurs in myriad ways. This stage of industrial transformation is solely dependent on forthcoming technologies. The application of new technologies innovated under this Fourth Industrial Revolution has an innate and unpleasant feature of jobless growth aided by lesser human intervention and greater automation. Due to this menacing possibility the oppurtunities for large scale employment are structurally bleak. Hence it carries a potential to danger and vicious threat to social stability of countries like Bangladesh which are densely populated and direly challenged by chronic poverty. But there are also upsides of new revolutionary phenomenon. In order to gain and garner the possibilities of it the Government should plan in an elaborate fashion. Bangladesh has a large demography. So it can derive an impactful dividend out of it through imparting time-befitting technological knowledge and skills. The Government should set up more institutions of technical learning which will generate skilled manpower throughout the nation. Moreover the Government should start to frame pertinent policies up for new products design and diversification in industrial sector. The focus of automation and digitalisation has come to stay in the world. It will be an obvious act of intelligence to accept and adopt the styles and modes associated with it. Bangladesh needs to start its own ‘startup’ support programmes including incubation centres to facilitate innovation and scale for the digital eco-system. The young entrepreneurs, investors and researchers should be provided operating space, mentoring and some grants to move forward in this regard. The investors should also encourage industrial innovation for small, medium and big enterprises and create institutional cooperation and coordination between industrial units and institutes of research and development.
The industrial base in Bangladesh, though expanding, is still narrow. For faster and greater industrialization the youth of the nation can be a driving force if they are properly guided and trained. Their technical capabilities should have to be developed. Bangladesh is quite fortunate in this aspect to have a huge young population. Apart from this Bangladesh have appreciable riverine and marine resources which can be utilized for employment generation. The country is also endowed with natural beauteousness and rich cultural heritage. Trained workforce, strict environmental protection and societal concord can rightfully ensure the furtherance of these above mentioned sectors.
If Bangladesh aims to attain continual economic progress in the coming decades it should put dedicated emphasis on achieving competitive capabilities in world economy. Moreover the country should ceaselessly endeavour to strike a proper balance between sustainable development and diversification of economy out. Exclusive agencies should be created to develop futuristic products and solutions for home and abroad.
Good governance and efficiency in institutional performance are two other prime areas where Bangladesh is poorly lagging behind many other developing nations of Asia and Africa. The Government of Bangladesh must initiate relevant steps to achieve transparent and responsive governance and performance-linked competence in both public and private sector units through integrating technology in every aspect of administration and management. The Government of Bangladesh must also work with apposite and experienced global bodies in contemplation of ensuring better quality of exportable items, higher productivity, superior innovation and scale and robust civic infrastructure for seamless connectivity within the country.
Another vexatious challenge to industrial development in any post-colonial developing nation is the industrial waste management. On this subject the Government cannot tackle this environmental endangerment alone. The private sector, civil society groups and society at large can work in tandem to maintain ecological balance. The industrial units should abide by related laws and environmental compliance rules.
In conclusion it can be said that the Fourth Industrial Revolution will bring increasing interface with technology. The entire production and commercial paradigm will go through a complete transformation. This dynamic change will require upskilled labour to reap benefits from ensuing large-scale industrialization which will arrive at a cost of dimishing need of human labour. Therefore the human labour will need educational, financial and societal support to face this gargantuan transfiguration in human history.
Hence the policy makers in Bangladesh should put extra emphashis on population control. Though an excessive and explosive population in the Bengal delta is a historical reality since the expansion of agrarian settlement and genesis of a syncretic form of Islamic identity since 13th century it is quite an emergency in present day condition to opt for a radical programme to arrest the further growth of population. The precarious realities of Bangladesh are small size, huge population, scanty resources and perennially prone to disastrous natural calamities like flood, tidal surge, cyclone, etc. In this backdrop Bangladesh govt. and civil society should undertake a comprehensive policy for population control by involving all the stakeholders including the religious leaders and preachers who have a near complete clout and command over the impoverished rural and semi-rural Muslim masses in the country. It is very important because the advent of fourth industrial revolution (4IR) will lead to a diminishing demand for human labour in the productive sector and Bangladesh is still heavily dependent upon labour intensive readymade garment industry and direct labour export to MiddleEast, Southeast Asia and other parts of the world. Here lies the situational quagmire for Bangladesh economy in near future. To tide over this looming economic crisis there is no other way but to implement an aggressive policy towards population control in the country. If Bangladesh state and society fails to accept the existential exigency for robust population control measures from the nner recesses of the nation’s collective conscience and consciousness the young, emerging, industrious nation’s dream for a knowledge based economy in future will go in vain. The country will be ungovernable amidst outburst of population growth and any plan or programme for a ‘developed’ Bangladesh will be a sheer pointless job in simple terms of problems and prospects.
(This article was published in Insight October 2022 issue)
REFERENCES
1. https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2022/01/06/with-4ir-knocking-on-the-door-is-bangladesh-ready
2. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/12/bangladesh-and-the-fourth-industrial-revolution/