TDS Desk:

Bangladesh’s reform initiatives are progressing slowly, with only two out of 128 reform proposals in four categories reaching the action implementation stage, according to data published by the newly launched Bangladesh Reform Tracker.

The online platform, developed by the Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh, shows that both of the implemented reforms fall under the electoral process category, while the remaining proposals remain stalled at early stages across other sectors.

The Bangladesh Reform Tracker was launched on Sunday (14 December) at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka.

Currently, it is monitoring reforms in four categories—anti-corruption, electoral process, labour and media—using five stages: reform proposed, reform initiated, legal and policy formulation, operationalisation, and action implementation.

Additional sectors, including the judiciary, local government, women’s administration, police, education, health, human rights, power and energy, LDC graduation, data, banking and public finance, are expected to be added later.

According to the tracker, 47 reforms are being monitored in the anti-corruption category.

Of these, 24 remain at the proposal stage, and 23 are at the initiation stage. None have progressed to legal and policy formulation, operationalisation or implementation.

In the electoral process category, 31 reforms are being tracked.

Thirteen are at the proposal stage, three at initiation, eight at legal and policy formulation, five at operationalisation and two at the action implementation stage.

These are the only reforms that have reached full implementation so far.

The labour category includes 23 reforms, with 11 at the proposal stage, one at initiation and 11 at legal and policy formulation.

In the media category, 27 reforms are being tracked, of which 14 are proposed, 11 initiated, one at legal and policy formulation, and one at operationalisation.

The interim government formed several reform commissions to develop proposals in different sectors and held discussions on these initiatives with political parties.

However, the tracker indicates that most reforms have yet to move beyond the initial phases.

The Reform Tracker plans to provide regular updates and publish periodic monitoring reports titled “State of Reforms” briefs to highlight progress and gaps.

It also aims to engage with key stakeholders to validate findings, strengthen accountability—particularly of the next elected government—and assess whether reforms are delivering intended benefits for citizens.

Planned additions to the website include subscription-based updates, tools for comparing progress across reform areas, improved accessibility features, and Bangla-language support to widen public access.

The Reform Tracker is managed by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), which serves as the secretariat of the Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh.

The platform is designed to track reform-related policies, legislative actions, institutional changes and implementation milestones, while incorporating expert analysis and citizen feedback to improve transparency and public engagement in the reform process.