The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), one of the country’s leading think tanks, on Sunday projected a GDP growth rate of 2.5 percent -the lowest in almost 30 years- for the Bangladesh economy in the 2019-20 fiscal, as most of the sectors contributing to GDP were hit hard by the Coronavirus pandemic.
The organization disclosed the projection in a virtual briefing on “Challenges of Policymaking in Times of Pandemics: State of the Bangladesh Economy in FY2020.”
The think tank also forecast that the country’s poverty rate may soar back up to 35 percent due to the impact of the lockdown imposed to fight COVID-19, meaning 35 percent of the population would be living below the poverty line used in Bangladesh.
The government announced the general holidays from March 26 up to May 30 in phases after the coronavirus infected patients were found on March 8 in the country.
source: UNB
