Remittance inflow has increased in the first month of the New Year for the raised cash incentive to remittance senders.
The expatriates living in different countries sent $1.70 billion in January, up about 4.52 percent over the earnings of December 2021 amounting $1.63 billion, according to Bangladesh Bank (BB) data.
In January 2021, remittance stood at $1.96 billion.
Economists and bankers said that since the first day of the New Year, the government has increased the cash incentive for remittances from 2 percent to 2.5 percent.
This has had a positive effect on this index, they said, adding that more remittances are coming from the Middle East countries as the economy of the Middle East has recovered due to the increase in the price of fuel oil in the world market.
To increase the flow of remittances, the government was providing cash incentives at the rate of 2 percent from the fiscal year 2019-20.
From January 1, 2022, it has been increased to 2.5 percent.
Although coronavirus hit every country in the world, Bangladesh sent 6,17,209 workers overseas and received $22.07 billion in remittances in 2021, which was more than that in any other year in the history of Bangladesh.
This inflow was $21.78 billion in 2020 and $18.33 billion in 2019.
According to data in the ministry, the government has already set up many training centres in different districts along with skill development programmes to create skilled jobseekers.
The government encourages documented overseas employment, as an important component of earning foreign currency.
Bangladesh has become the 8th largest remittance-receiving country and the 6th largest migrant-sending country in the world, according to the World Migration Report 2022.
The government provided various training including diploma in ship building engineering, refrigeration and air-conditioning, general mechanics, electrical machine maintenance, auto CAD 2D and 3D, welding (6G), catering, masonry, Korean, Arabic, canton, Japanese language and others.
Earlier, the government declared the overseas employment sector as a “thrust sector” with maximum stress on further expanding job markets for the Bangladeshi job seekers abroad.
