To ensure greater transparency and credibility within the national statistical system, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has now been empowered to publish statistical data without prior approval from any minister or the highest authorities of the government.
As a result, the BBS will be able to release data based on the vetting and directives of a newly formed technical committee, eliminating the need for separate governmental approval.
The government on Thursday introduced two distinct policies titled the "Data Dissemination Policy" and the "Statistical Reporting Policy".
Under these policies, the director general of the BBS has been granted full authority to publish critical indicators such as GDP and inflation figures, following consultation with the relevant technical committee.
Until now, the publication of BBS data required the consent of the planning minister and the head of state, often leading to prolonged delays in dissemination.
At times, data could not even be released in the middle of the reporting month, raising questions about the reliability of the statistics.
The interim government’s economic white paper says: “During the previous government’s tenure, the culture of data suppression and manipulation became a major obstacle to accurately depicting development.”
Under the new policies, six technical committees are being established, covering national accounts (GDP and inflation), agriculture, industry and labour, demography and health, computing and census-related matters.
These committees will include representatives from institutions such as the University of Dhaka, North South University, the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), Bangladesh Bank, and other public and private organizations.
An official from the Statistics and Informatics Division told Bangla Tribune: “Although the Statistics Act was enacted in 2013, there was previously no defined policy for the dissemination of official data. This is the first time such a framework has been established.”
According to the policy, statistical data will be classified into three categories: data to be published openly on the website, data accessible for a specified fee and confidential data—those that may pose risks to national security or individual privacy if disclosed.
As part of the new framework, the BBS has been identified as the “fifth pillar of the state” and a recommendation has been made to ensure its political and institutional autonomy.
