http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2010/01/21/news0689.htm
First IT-based trade info centre at BCSIR by yearend
BSS, Dhaka
Bangladesh Council of Science and Industrial Research (BCSIR), the state-run apex body for scientific innovation and promotion, has embarked on a plan to set up an IT- based trade related service centre especially for entrepreneurs, importers and exporters.
The centre dubbed ‘Centre for Trade and Technology Information Research and Services (CTTIRC)’ would be set under the Instrumentation and Calibration Service Laboratory (ICSL), the country’s lone reference lab at the BCSIR. The Taka eight-crore proposed CTTIRC, first of its kind, is designed for providing most-up-to-date import-export data to entrepreneurs, importers, exporters, scientists and policymakers for creating new export destinations in the present WTO regime.
These observations came at an idea sharing workshop on “Establishing of the CTTIRC in ICSL-BCSIR” held in council’s auditorium here last night.
Science and ICT Secretary AKM Abdul Awal Majumder spoke as the chief guest while chairman of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) Dr M Mosharraf Hossain was the special guest at the workshop with BCSIR Professor Dr SM Imamul Huq in the chair.
BCSIR Scientific Officer Mala Khan presented the keynote paper on the ‘CTTIRC in ICSL-BCSIR’ giving a picture of the country’s struggling importers, exporters and entrepreneurs in the present era of globalization. Abdul Awal pointed out that a good number of products of the country are now facing snags while entering the international markets due to technical and quality restrictions next to tariff barriers.
He made a plea to the BCSIR authorities to come up with helping hands to provide businessmen with necessary supports in view of growing the export market. The government wants to serve the businessmen on a justifiable basis and therefore necessary steps have been taken to turn the BCSIR into a sustainable one, said the ICT secretary.
Dr Hossain said the country’s public health situation has remained on a safe side as a result of action-oriented researches in particular on radio-active materials. He came down heavily on the extensive use of some pesticide-treated local products in the country saying the practice faces problem of non-compliance when those are being sent to the international markets.
Professor Dr SM Imamul Huq said local entrepreneurs could be benefited enormously if they know about the BCSIR-invented series of innovations. It is unfortunate that Bangladesh has no calibration system for instruments, he said terming it as a bottleneck in the way of product diversification in world market.
BCSIR chairman said the proposed CTTIRC would have collaboration with regional and international information centres so that area of interests of businessmen can be included in it.
Product costs in terms of import-export would come down if necessary quality related information is disseminated among businessmen, he hoped.
Mala Khan, also project director of the ICSL, said being updated with knowledge-information is a big challenge in the present rapidly changing regulatory and technical requirements in the WTO era.
Detailing the CTTIRC, she said a database is being readied and enlisted businessmen would be able to have access to it through a simple log on. Trade bodies including DCCI, FBCCI, BGMEA, BKMEA would be the contributing stakeholders in the system. Most of the tasks including setting up infrastructure facilities would be completed by end of the year.
Initially, said Mala Khan, the system would be introduced in Dhaka and gradually it would be expanded to the capital with call centres.
