Experts for policy support to use blockchain technology

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DHAKA, Feb 12, 2020 (BSS) – Bureaucrats, IT experts, bankers and academia
today laid emphasis on providing policy support to use the frontier
technologies like blockchain in different domains including governance,
banking and finance, agriculture and health.

The suggestion came at a workshop on “National Blockchain Strategy: Pathway
to be a Blockchain-enabled Nation” organized by Leveraging ICT for Employment
and Growth of the IT-ITES Industry (LICT) project of Bangladesh Computer
Council (BCC) of ICT Division at the IDEA breakout zone of ICT tower.

“The government will make a strategy first and then policy for using
blockchain in different domains,” said ICT Senior Secretary N M Zeaul Alam at
the workshop.

Referring to Prime Minister’s ICT Affair Adviser’s instruction to develop
policy on frontier technologies N M Zeaul Alam said the government has been
making a strategy on the blockchain taking opinion of the experts to make it
an effective document.

“I think the blockchain strategy would be worthy and time-befitting for
using the technology in future in different domains,” the ICT secretary said.

Chaired by LICT project director Md Rezaul Karim, the function was
addressed, among others, by Additional Secretary Rashadul Islam, IT-ITES
Policy Adviser of LICT Project Sami Ahmed, Head of BRAC IT Services Sabbir
Mahmud, Head of Operations of eGeneration Emran Abdullah, Professor Dr
Shariar of ULAB, Managing Director of TCL K. Atique-e-Rabbani, Deb Dulal Roy.

Assistant Professor of Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE)
of Shahjalal Science and Technology University (SUST) Md Sadek Ferdous
presented a keynote paper while Sami Ahmed moderated the workshop.

The experts, however, suggested that strategy should be focused on
developing existing IT resources on blockchain technology, creating a
national expert pool to use the blockchain technology in the said domains and
awareness among the users.

Rashadul Islam said the government has taken initiative to make blockchain
strategy as policy intervention is a must for introducing new technology.

The IT experts, bureaucrats, bankers and academia put forward their
recommendations for short, mid and long-term including developing existing IT
resources, prioritizing and analyzing used-cases for each application domain,
integration of government services, updating Bangladesh National Digital
Architecture (BNDA), blockchain-friendly legal and policy frameworks for
incorporating in the proposed new strategy on blockchain.