Staff Reporter:

Everyone, including the common people, businessmen, professionals, farmers, and workers, should be brought under digital services, and no citizen will be left out in this regard, said Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury.

He said that all government services in the country will be brought under 100 percent digitalization as there is no alternative to technology to involve every person in the country in economic activities.

He said this at the ‘Innovation Showcasing’ program organized by the Financial Institutions Division at the Ministry of Finance on Monday.

The minister said, “The proper use of technology will save people’s time and money. I urge the concerned officials to discourage people from coming to government offices directly for services.”

He said, “A decision has been taken to digitize from all aspects as soon as possible. All people should be brought under it. Inclusiveness should not only be in the economy; this issue should also be ensured in the delivery of services.”

The minister also said, “Many services can be accessed from home. This should be made known to the service recipients. Every service should be delivered to the doorstep of the people. If customer service can be ensured at home, a lot of things including time and money will be saved. It is not enough to just take the project, but we should also take initiatives to inform the people about it.”

On this day, 25 departments and organizations under the Financial Institutions Department showcased 50 innovations with the aim of facilitating transparency, accountability and customer service in the financial sector. It was informed at the event that 329 services have been completely digitalized under the Financial Institutions Department so far. In this year’s Innovation Showcase, 5 organizations were awarded for the best innovative initiatives in 5 different categories.

The awardees were Janata Bank PLC as the state-owned commercial bank, Probashi Kalyan Bank as the specialized bank, Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority as the regulatory body, Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation in the non-bank financial institution category, and Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation PKSF in the other categories.