Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury -File photo

DHAKA, July 5, 2026 (BSS) - Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury today stressed enhancing the institutional capacity, professional independence and credibility of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) to strengthen public confidence in official statistics and support evidence-based policymaking.

He made the remarks while exchanging views with officials of the Statistics and Informatics Division (SID) and the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) at the SID office in Dhaka.

State Minister for Planning Md Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki, Statistics and Informatics Division Secretary Md Firoz Sarkar, Acting Director General of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics Md Mir Hossain and senior officials of the division and BBS attended the meeting.

During the discussion, the minister underscored the importance of ensuring greater professionalism and independence in the production and dissemination of official statistics so that government data remain credible and trusted by citizens.

He directed the authorities concerned to update the organisational structure and recruitment rules of the BBS to facilitate career development and improve the professional standards of its officials. He also called for expanding research opportunities at the BBS and ensuring the maximum use of official statistics in all government policy formulation and decision-making processes, said a ministry press release.

The minister further instructed the Statistics and Informatics Division to take initiatives for establishing a Statistics Academy aimed at strengthening institutional capacity and developing skilled statistical professionals.

Following the meeting, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury formally inaugurated the BBS Microdata Analysis Laboratory at the bureau’s headquarters in Agargaon, Dhaka.

The newly established laboratory is a secure on-site research facility that will allow authorised students, researchers, economists, policymakers and other approved users to analyse anonymised microdata generated through national censuses and surveys conducted by the BBS.

The facility is expected to play a significant role in academic research, thesis preparation, policy analysis, programme evaluation and evidence-based development planning by providing secure access to official microdata.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony, the minister said reliable data constitute one of the key foundations of sound planning and national development. He said the Microdata Analysis Laboratory would provide researchers and policymakers with a secure and controlled environment for conducting in-depth analysis of government datasets, enabling new avenues of research and knowledge generation.
He noted that the BBS regularly produces a vast amount of microdata through national censuses and surveys, and the new laboratory would ensure that these valuable datasets are utilised in a safer, more organised and research-friendly manner.

Highlighting the importance of data-driven development, the minister said the laboratory would make a meaningful contribution to building a data-based Bangladesh by transforming data into knowledge and knowledge into development. 

He also thanked the BBS for creating greater public access to official data through the establishment of the facility.

Speaking on the occasion, State Minister for Planning Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki said the Microdata Analysis Laboratory would open new opportunities for students, researchers, economists and policymakers by facilitating wider use of national statistical data in research and policy formulation.

Statistics and Informatics Division Secretary Md Firoz Sarkar stressed the need for maintaining a balance between access to microdata and protection of respondents’ confidentiality. He said the laboratory would serve as an effective model for secure data use, responsible research and institutional accountability.