Govt to give awards for industrial development

The government is set to honour local firms next month for their contributions to the country's industrial development and encouraging creativity and innovation in the manufacturing sector. The recognition, called President's Industrial Development Award, will be given for the first time to 12 firms in five categories -- large, medium, small, cottage and high-tech -- for 2014, the industries ministry said in a notice early this month.

The awards will be based on a guideline framed in 2013 by the ministry to encourage entrepreneurs to set up industries and infuse innovation and creativity.

The overall contribution of a firm to the industrial sector will be considered when giving out awards, it said.

The firm's annual turnover, contribution to exports, production of import substitute goods, innovation and product standards will also be looked at during selection.

The extent of the use of local raw materials by the firms, their role in job creation and environmental protection, corporate social responsibility, and research and development are included in the selection criteria as well.

The guideline says tax, loan and bill defaulters will not be eligible for the recognition.

The industrial entrepreneurs who are guilty of criminal offences in court or have any pending case will be disqualified. 

The recognition will also encourage new investors to set up high-tech industrial units, said Md Saiful Islam, chairman of Western Marine Shipyard, which has been nominated in the high-tech industry category.  The shipbuilding industry, which can also be categorised as heavy industry, will help improve Bangladesh's image globally because of export of vessels from here, he said.

It will also help diversify the export basket and markets and reduce the heavy dependence on apparels.

It will send out a message to entrepreneurs to move into new products and new markets, Islam said.

The announcement from the industries ministry, which also provides National Productivity and Quality Excellence Award and recognises businesses as commercially important persons, comes at a time when the economy has been growing at nearly 6 percent a year owing to industrial growth.

The manufacturing sector grew at a faster pace than the agriculture and service sectors in the last several years.

Its share of the economy grew to 20.17 percent in fiscal 2014-15 from 19.47 percent a year earlier, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Bangladesh has 42,792 industrial establishments, 41 percent of which are micro-type manufacturing units, 37 percent small, 14 percent medium and 8 percent large, according to BBS's Survey of Manufacturing Industries 2012. 

The recognition will create enthusiasm among entrepreneurs, said Zaid Bakht, research director of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies.

However, it will not have a substantive impact on industrialisation. For that, reducing infrastructural bottlenecks and ensuring concessionary loans for faster industrial expansion are needed, he added.