The Economic Intelligence Bangladesh (EIB) has published its fifth issue titled “10 Immediate Measures to Save Bangladesh’s Economy,” recommending urgent steps to revive the economy and prevent a crash landing.

 The recommendations in 10 broad categories are particularly significant as they capitalise on the freedom to criticise brought about by a student-led mass uprising.

An interim government has replaced the autocratic Awami League regime which left the once roaring South Asian economy in shambles through 15 years of widespread corruption, fostering of oligarchy, and development of eye-popping infrastructure projects.

Assuming office on 8 August, the interim government, led by Prof Muhammad Yunus, has already taken a number of steps to save the economy, and all are welcomed by EIB.

The research publication of TBS research team and DataSense, suggests further steps to ease the economy rejuvenation process with valuable inputs from the country’s leading economists and academics.

As per EIB’s latest issue, the 10 major steps the current government should take are: government expenditure control, rebuilding forex reserves, checking corruption and money laundering, inflation control, banking sector reform, reform in tax regime, revisiting disaster management framework, reforms in laws on rights to information, lowering gas and electricity prices, and strengthening human capital for quality employment.

Some key steps subsumed under these 10 broad priorities include: using debt-for-nature swap to ease foreign debt burden, introducing a debt management commission, significantly increasing income tax collection rate from the currently 59% rate, collecting taxes automatically through taxpayers’ bank accounts, liberalising project bidding processes and hiking interest rates.

For curbing inflation EIB suggests breaking syndicates, tackling conglomerates and oligarchs monopolising supplies, supporting mid- and small-sized producers and importers, and introducing farmers’ markets that would bring food supplies to cities directly from rural farmlands.