The regulatory authority of the textiles sector has been taken off from Board of Investment (BoI) and placed with the Ministry of Textiles and Jute.
At a regular meeting yesterday, the cabinet made the decision, saying that the textiles department of the ministry will look into the regulatory matters of the sector from now on.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presided over the meeting.
Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said the decision was taken as per a two-year old proposal of National Council of Industrial Development.
The meeting also decided to amend a relevant provision of the Industrial Policy 1991 which puts the textiles sector under the authority of the BoI.
In October, 1992, the policy was amended to bring the sector under the BoI control.
Under the existing Industrial Policy, small and cottage industries are regulated by the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) while the industries based in the export processing zones are controlled by the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA).
Other industries are under the control of the BoI.
“All the industries should be regulated by the respective ministries,” said the cabinet secretary.
In the meeting, the cabinet approved a draft agreement to be signed between Bangladesh and Serbia for introducing visa exemption facility for the official and diplomatic passports of both countries.
According to the agreement, the official and diplomatic passport holders of the two countries will be given visa on arrival and the visa will remain valid for 90 days.
Bangladeshi officials and diplomats have been enjoying visa exemption facility in several other countries, the cabinet secretary mentioned.
