B Mirror Report:  A regular Manufacturing Index will be published by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) in collaboration with the Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) to present a clearer picture of industrial trends and real sector performance in Bangladesh.

To this end, a stakeholder consultation meeting on the proposed joint research titled “BIDS-BCI Industry-100 Index” was held yesterday at the BIDS conference room in Dhaka, according to a press release issued by BCI.

The initiative will cover large and medium manufacturing industries across various sectors and aims to develop a reliable and data-driven index to reflect the actual condition of the country’s industrial sector.

The meeting was chaired by Professor A.K. Enamul Haque, Director General of BIDS, while BCI President Anwar-Ul Alam Chowdhury (Parvez) attended as the guest of honor. The keynote paper was presented by Dr. Kazi Iqbal, Research Director of BIDS.

Professor A.K. Enamul Haque said BIDS has been engaged in several new initiatives, and its Industry and Physical Infrastructure Division is now working to regularly assess the state of the manufacturing sector. “We often hear whether the industry is doing well or not, but there is a lack of strong data to support such claims. To address this gap, we planned to develop a manufacturing industry index, and later, through discussions with the BCI president, we decided to undertake it jointly,” he said.

BCI President Anwar-Ul Alam Chowdhury (Parvez) stated that Bangladesh’s manufacturing sector does not always receive appropriate policy support, and in many cases, it is not clearly distinguished from the service and trading sectors. He emphasized the need for timely and accurate data to guide policymakers, support industrial expansion, encourage entrepreneurship, and attract foreign investment. He expressed confidence that BIDS, as a strong research institution, would successfully implement the initiative for the benefit of all stakeholders.

In his presentation, Dr. Kazi Iqbal said the proposed index will be developed using an in-house model and will be published on a quarterly basis. “We are preparing to construct an industry index covering both medium and large-scale manufacturing sectors,” he added.

Other participants at the meeting included BCI Senior Vice President Preeti Chakraborty, Uttara Motors Chairman Matiur Rahman, and BGMEA President Shamim Ahmed, among others.