The government is aiming to clock more than 8 per cent economic growth on average during the Eight Five-Year Plan period as it hopes that the impacts of the devastating coronavirus pandemic would fade in the second half of the current fiscal year.
Gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to recover in the second half of the FY21 driven by external demand recovery, the rebounding in domestic demand and the impact of the fiscal stimulus, according to the plan document.
"All sectors of the economy except education are already open. The private sector has opened up. Exports are picking up. Remittance flow is robust. So, we are hopeful," M Shamsul Alam, a member of the General Economics Division and the main author of the plan, told The Daily Star yesterday.
The GED has started a series of consultation meetings on the draft plan with stakeholders. As part of the consultation, Prof Alam made a presentation on the draft at a virtual meeting on Wednesday.
AHM Mustafa Kamal, finance minister, MA Mannan, planning minister, and Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud, chair of the panel of economists, attended the meeting, among others.
