The cabinet on Monday decided to store all government data at the 300TB capacity Kaliakair Data Centre under the ICT Division.
The data centre will have a backup in Jessore to ensure that the data will not be lost even if the centre is affected by a natural disaster.
The decision was made at the weekly cabinet meeting at the Secretariat. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the meeting, joining virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban.
“From now on, all government data will be stored there. It’s compulsory for the government’s data, and all private data can also be stored there upon payment,” Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam said at a press briefing after the meeting.
He said even the owners of the data centre will have no access to the data of any agency. Only the agencies concerned will have access to their data.
The cabinet secretary also said the cabinet approved retrospectively the revised drafts of memorandum of association and articles of association of the Bangladesh Data Centre Company Limited.
He said the government is giving Tk50 crore as the initial operating fund of the company, and the company will subsequently have to run the data centre with its own revenue.
“Every ministry or division of the government will have to open a server at the Kaliakair Data Centre. The data of all government agencies will have to be stored there. All types of safety and security measures for the data will be there,” he added.
4th Industrial Revolution in focus
The cabinet was informed about the prospects of Bangladesh in the 4th Industrial Revolution in a presentation by the ICT Division at the meeting.
The ICT Division pointed out 10 areas of technology that will lead the world in the future. “So, we have to pay special attention to the 10 areas of technology [to unlock the potential of the 4th IR], otherwise, we will not be able to survive in the international market,” the cabinet secretary said.
The 10 are: advanced materials, cloud technology, autonomous vehicles, synthetic biology, virtual augmented reality, artificial intelligence, robots, blockchain, 3D printing and internet of things.
“Our future will depend on how we will handle the 4th Industrial Revolution. We will face problems if we can’t handle it properly,” he added.
Noting that the system of production and total technology will change during the revolution, he said Bangladesh will have to make its workforce fit for it or the country will fall behind others in terms of the economy, technology and other areas.
The cabinet secretary said a few garment factories have started using robots in the country.
Jatiyo Muktijoddha Council Bill approved
Besides, the Cabinet in principle approved the draft of the Jatiyo Muktijoddha Council Bill 2020, aiming to replace the existing Jatiyo Muktijoddha Council Act 2002.
“The Liberation War Affairs Ministry placed the draft law as the existing act can’t fully meet the demands of the present time. With the passage of the proposed law, the existing act of 2002 will be annulled,” said the cabinet secretary.
The provisions related to the operation and formulation of the Jatiyo Muktijoddha Council (National Freedom Fighter Council) have been made more precise in the proposed law.
As per the bill, the Council can recommend the list of the collaborators (Razakars) before the government.
Anwarul said the council will have the authority to recommend the list of those who had opposed the liberation of Bangladesh acting as members of Razakar, Al Badr and Al Shams or engaged in the war as members of the para-military forces from March 26 to December 16 in 1971.
Moreover, the Cabinet endorsed a proposal to observe December 18 as the national and international migration day every year.
