The ashes and wreckages left by the Pakistan occupation forces 49 years back have now become solid gold enriched with robust economy and infrastructures due to hard work of the people led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
After the 49 years of the independence, Bangladesh has been able to become a self-dignified state under the dynamic leadership of Bangabandhu’s daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, political analysts said.
Bangladesh today has become a role model of development across the globe as its incredible growth and success in every sector continue.
Bangladesh is on the threshold of reaching 50 years of independence. Bangladesh's economic and social progress in this path is enviable. In the eyes of foreigners, post-independence Bangladesh was then described by many as a bottomless basket which is now a prosperous and self-reliant country. All in all, Bangladesh is now an emerging economy.
Not only that, what Bangladesh has achieved in 49 years, Pakistan and neighboring India could not achieve in 73 years of their independence. Economists said that this is the remarkable achievement of the country's independence.
Human resource development is considered as the most important element of development of any country. In this case too, Bangladesh is ahead of Pakistan. According to the World Bank's 'Human Development Index, 2020' report, Bangladesh ranks 52nd out of 174 countries with 46 points.
Another easy way to understand how far a country has come is per capita income. In this case, Bangladesh is ahead of both India and Pakistan. Bangladesh's per capita income is now $2064, where Pakistan's per capita income is $1641 and India's $1895.
Economist Policy Research Institute (PRI) Executive Director Ahsan H Mansoor said, “Bangladesh has achieved a lot in last 49 years of independence. Today, the hunger-poverty-stricken country is self-sufficient in food. Bangladesh, which did not have proper roads, built the Padma Bridge with its own funds at a cost of more than Tk 30,000 crore.”
He continued, “It is implementing 10 mega projects including Rooppur nuclear power plant. There has been a huge improvement in the power sector. In this way, in the 49 years of independence, Bangladesh has made better progress in all sectors than many neighboring countries. Today Bangladesh is an economically prosperous and self-reliant country.”
A comparison of some more indicators shows how far Bangladesh has really come on the path to prosperity. Bangladesh has made astonishing progress in preventing infant mortality. There was a time when the infant mortality rate was quite high in the country due to lack of treatment or lack of public awareness. And now it is ahead of India-Pakistan. India has a child mortality rate of 30 per 1000, Pakistan 58 and Bangladesh 22 per 1000.
Bangladesh is also ahead of Pakistan in terms of school education. The literacy rate in Bangladesh is now 73.9 percent and in Pakistan it is 59.13 percent. In terms of education, however, Bangladesh lags behind India. India's literacy rate is 74.4 percent.
Bangladesh's population growth rate has now dropped to 1.3 percent, compared to 2.1 percent in Pakistan. Bangladesh is at the forefront in creating a safe environment for children. Bangladesh's rating is 4.1, India's 5.7 and Pakistan's latest 9.7.
Bangladesh is also tops in birth control rate. In this case, the index of Bangladesh is 2.0, India's 2.2 and the latest Pakistan 3.5.
Bangladesh also tops in terms of average life expectancy. The average life expectancy of the people of Bangladesh is 72.3 years, that of India is 69.4 years and that of Pakistan is 67.1 years.
Bangladesh is the top country in terms of Gross Savings GDP at 33.3 percent. It is followed by India at 31.1 percent and Pakistan at 19.3 percent.
None of the three countries has yet achieved 100 percent electrification. But in this case, India is ahead. Their household electricity connection index in India is 95.2 percent, Bangladesh is 85.2 percent and Pakistan is 71.1 percent.
Bangladesh is in a successful position among the countries of South-East Asia in suppressing terrorism. The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), a Sydney-based think tank, recently released the Global Terrorism Index 2020 where Bangladesh ranks 33rd. According to the report, Bangladesh's score is 4.909. Pakistan is at 7th with 7.541 points, India is at 8th with 7.353 points, Sri Lanka is at 20th with 6.065 points and Nepal is at 27th with 5.34 points.
Apart from all of these, to be a developed country massive infrastructural construction work is continuing across the country. Bangladesh dreams of becoming a developed country. The aim of the present government is to take the country to a developed country by 2041. Work is underway on 10 mega projects to take Bangladesh on the highways of developed countries.
The Padma Bridge is now visible after the 41st span installation on December 10. It is expected that vehicles will run on the Padma Bridge by March 2022.
Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is one of the costliest projects in the country. The cost of the project is Tk 11,3092 crore. The project is scheduled to complete by 2025.
The Rampal Power plant is being constructed by a joint venture of Bangladesh and India. The cost is Tk 16,000 crore. The overall progress of the project is 11 percent and the financial progress is 17.76 percent.
The Japanese government is funding Matarbari Power plant project at a cost of Tk 35,984 crore. Under the project, the work of package 1.1 power plant and other facilities has been completed. The work of plant and port facilities under package 1.2 has been 20.16 percent so far.
The Metrorail project is being implemented in the capital at a cost of Tk 21,985 crore with the funding of the Japanese government. The financial progress of the project from the beginning to August has been 23.22 percent and expected to complete the project by 2024.
The under construction Payra deep-sea port has been divided into 19 components. Of these, seven components are being implemented through the concerned ministries, six components are being implemented through PPP and six components are being implemented through G-to-G system.
Padma Rail Link project is being implemented at a cost of Tk 39,246 crore on a G2G basis with funding from the Chinese government. From the beginning to August this year, the project expense is Tk 9088 crore. The overall physical progress of the project is 15.2 percent and the financial progress is 23.15 percent.
Single Line Dual Gauge Track Construction Project to Ghumdhum. This project is being implemented at a cost of Taka 18,034 crore with the funding of Asian Development Bank (ADB). The overall physical progress of the project has been 11 percent and the financial progress has been 23.15 percent.
Karnafuli Tunnel and Elevated Expressway are being constructed in Chattogram. The total construction cost of the two projects is Tk 13,130 crore. The Roads and Bridges Department is constructing 'Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel' under the Karnafuli river. On October 14, 2017, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Chinese President Xi Jinping laid the foundation stone of the tunnel at a ceremony in Dhaka.