Culture

Culture, comes from the Latin word cultura which means to cultivate. It generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance and importance. Cultural Anthropologists most commonly use the term "culture" to refer to the universal human capacity and activities to classify, codify and communicate their experiences symbolically. This capacity has long been taken as a defining feature of humans.

Culture can be defined as all the ways of life, arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that are passed down from generation to generation. Culture has been called "the way of life for an entire society." As such, it includes codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, norms of behavior such as law and morality, and systems of belief as well as the art. Culture is also manifested in music, literature, lifestyle, painting and sculpture, theater and film and similar things.

Culture of Pakistan

Pakistan has a wealthy cultural and ethnic background going back to Indus Valley Civilization, 2800 BC 1800 BC. The society of Pakistan comprises of numerous diverse cultures from the Punjabis and Sind his in the east to the tribal cultures of the easternmost of Pakistan's provinces. 2

To understand the culture of Pakistan properly, one must have a sound knowledge of Pakistans history and geography. This is because the culture of Pakistan has been greatly influenced by the surrounding cultures of India, Central Asia and the Middle East.

Geography of Pakistan: Pakistan is situated in the western part of the Indian subcontinent, with Afghanistan and Iran on the west, India on the east, and the Arabian Sea on the south. The name Pakistan is derived from the Urdu words Pak (meaning pure) and Stan (meaning country). It is nearly twice the size of California.

History of Pakistan In Relation To The Culture of Pakistan: Pakistan in ancient times was a major cultural hub, the home of ancient civilizations, including the Indus Valley Civilization, the foundation of Indian culture. Many cultural practices and monuments have been inherited from the rule of many rulers of the region that have added their cultural traditions to the region. One of the most influenced cultures being the Mughals.

The region of Pakistan has been invaded in the past, occupied and settled by many different people, including Aryans, Greeks, White Huns, Arabs, Turks, Mongols and various Eurasian groups. And indeed the region has 3 formed a distinct cultural unit within the main cultural complex of South Asia from earlier times.

There are differences in culture among the different ethnic groups in matters such as dress, food, and religion, especially wherepre-Islamic customs differ from Islamic practices. The cultural origins come from the civilizations of India and eastern Afghanistan, with significant influences from Persia, Turkestan and Hellenistic Greece. However, it was the first part of the subcontinent to receive the full impact of Islam. Hence, it has developed an identity of its own.

Ancient sites in Pakistan include Buddhist monuments, Hindu/Buddhist temples, Palaces and Monuments built by Emperors, tombs, pleasure grounds and Anglo-Mogul mansions - some in a state of dereliction which makes their former grandeur more emphatic. Sculpture is dominated by Greco-Buddhist friezes, and crafts by ceramics, jewellery, silk goods and engraved woodwork and metalwork.

Pakistani society is largely multilingual and multicultural. Though cultures within the country differ to some extent, more similarities than differences can be found as most Pakistanis are of mainly Aryan heritage. However, over 50 years of integration, a distinctive "Pakistani" culture has sprung up especially in the urban areas. Education is highly regarded by members of every socio-economic stratum. The traditional family values are highly respected and considered sacred, although urban families have grown into a nuclear family system, owing 4 to the socio-economic constraints imposed by the traditional joint family system. Dress: Women wear brightly colored shalwar kameez with embroidery for special occasions such as weddings while men often wear solid colored shalwar kameez, usually with a sherwani, a coat that goes over the shalwar kameez.

Literature - Poetry: The Urdu language has an old tradition of poetry and includes famous poets as Mirza Ghalib, Allama Iqbal and Faiz Ahmad Faiz national Poet of Pakistan. Apart from Urdu poetry, Pakistani poetry also has many blends of other languages. Balochi Poetry, Persian poetry, English poetry, Punjabi poetry and Kashmiri poetry have all incorporated and have influenced the different kinds of poetry in the region.

Music: Pakistani music is represented by a wide variety of forms. It ranges from traditional styles (such as Qawwali) to more modern forms that try to fuse traditional Pakistani music with western music. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was internationally renowned for creating a form of music which synchronized Qawwali with western music. Popular forms of music also prevail, the most notable being Film music and Urdu and Punjabi Pop music. In addition to this are the diverse traditions of folk music, as well as modern styles such as Rock. 5 Drama and theatre: These are very similar to stage plays in theatres. They are performed by many wellknown actors and actresses in the Lollywood industry. There are many types of themes that are brought across with lots of humor. The themes that are bought across are from a huge range of events that take place in ones life.

Sports: The official and national sport of Pakistan is field hockey, although squash and cricket are also very popular. The national cricket team has won the Cricket World Cup once (in 1992).

Cuisine: The culinary art in Pakistan comprises a mix of Middle Eastern, Indian, Persian, and Turkish cuisine that reflects the country's history as well as the variation of cooking practices from across the surrounding regions. Urban centres of the country offer an amalgamation of recipes from all parts of the country whereas food with specific local ingredients and tastes is available in rural areas and villages. Besides the main dishes of curry with or without meat cooked in vegetables or lentils, there are a number of provincial specialties such as karahi, biryani and tikka which are served in various forms, flavours and tastes and are eaten alongside a variety of breads such as naan, chappati and roti. There are also local forms of grilled meat or Kebabs, desserts as well as hot and cold drinks. 6 Festivals

Jashn-e-Baharan: Jashn-e-Baharan also referred to as Basant is a pre-Islamic Punjabi festival that marks the coming of spring. Celebrations in Pakistan are centered in Lahore and people from all over the country and abroad come to the city for the annual festivities. Kite flying competitions take place all over the city's rooftops during Basant. The fertile province of Punjab was intimately tied via its agriculture to the different seasons of the year. The arrival of Spring was an important event for all farmers and was welcomed with a celebration, hence the origins

ofJashn (celebration) Baharan (spring).

Norouz: This festival is like Norouz of Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia. In Northern Pakistan (Chitral, Gilgit and Baltistan) Norouz is celebrated as a socio-religious festival. It is also celebrated with

much fervour in Balochistan and in the urban centres of Karachi and Lahore. The day coincides with the Spring Equinox on March 21, but the celebration continues for weeks. In Baltistan, the main feature of Norouz is gifting of coloured eggs to friends and polo matches. While in Balochistan, the festival is marked with outdoor feasts, and the traditional jumping over a fire to wash away sins and usher in a fresh start. The origins of this festival are pre- Islamic and date back to when Pakistan was part of the Achaemenid/Persian empire for several thousand years. 7 Independence Day:

On August 14, the people of Pakistan celebrate the day Pakistan gained its independence from the British Raj for an independent state for Muslims. There are many celebrations all over the country, the streets are full of joyful people singing and dancing. Concerts are held with many pop and classical singers. Parades are held in the capital city (Islamabad). Many people decorate their houses and fly the flag of Pakistan. At night, fireworks are used in many cities. Many people pray for the country and think how proud they are to be Pakistanis. Defense Day Parade: September 6 is another patriotic day, when the Army of Pakistan is put on display for the general public to show Pakistan arms. All Government officials attend the ceremony and medals and recognitions are awarded to special people for their work. In March of 2007, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) put on display the new joint manufactured Chinese-Pakistani aircraft called the JF-17 Thunder. Muharram (Ashura): In Pakistan, the first ten days of Muharram are observed officially. The 10th of Muharram is celebrated in the memory of Hussain, the grandson of Muhammad, who was killed, along with 72 family members, friends and followers during the Battle of Karbala.

8 Milaad un Nabi:

Milaad un Nabi is a known religious festival which is celebrated in many parts of Pakistan. The Milaad is the celebration for the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Chand Raat:

After an Islamic month of fasting, Ramadan, just the night before Eid comes, everyone gets ready for Eid. In the night known as Chand Raat, girls put henna on their hands. Most people have parties at their house. People go out for the last minute shopping for gifts and sweets that will be given to friends and families. Even outside at the malls and the plazas, there are many colourful lights. There are large crowds in the city center to celebrate the beginning of Eid. Eid celebrations:

The two Eids, Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha commemorate the passing of the month of fasting, Ramadan, and the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ishmael for God. During these days there are national holidays and many festivals and events take place to celebrate Eid. As Pakistan is a Muslim state, there are three days off for all businesses and Government offices.

On the night before Eid, people search for the new moon to mark the end of Ramadan and arrival of Eid ul-Fitr. The day starts with morning prayers, then returning home for a large breakfast with family members. The day is spent visiting relatives and friends and sharing gifts and sweets with 9 everyone. During the evening people hit the town for some partying, going to restaurants or relaxing in city parks. On Eid ul-Fitr, money is given for charity and as gifts to young children.

Religion: As can be seen from the festivals and from the symbolic flag of Pakistan, the majority (97% of the population) residing in Pakistan follows the religion of Islam. Other religions such as Christianity, Hinduism are common in only 3% of the population. Thus, Islam is the main religion.

Ethnic Culture & Islam

Islam is a religion. But, to many Pakistanis, Islam is a culture because Pakistan was established on the fundamental principles of Islam. The majority of Pakistani Muslims, however, confuse between what is religion and what is culture. They take both as one and the same and, on many an occasion, practice religion as if it was part of the Pakistani culture, or adopt some of the old cultures thinking they are doing an Islamic thing.

Islam is very specific and explicit. Islam is the ultimate and everything else comes later.

Some Pakistanis were Hindus long before they became Muslims. They became Muslims not through the influence of the Arabs, but through the influence of other Muslim merchants. That is why our brand of Islam is the 10 same as in India or Malay or Bengal and we find some differences when comparing our practices to that of the Middle Eastern Muslims. The nation at that time owed their loyalty to the Sultans. When the Sultans converted to Islam the nation followed suit without any questions asked. They became Muslims due to the tradition of loyalty to the Sultans rather than because they were committed to the religion. The

people were just doing what the Sultan asked. The old cultures and traditions were retained and practiced side-by-side with Islam. Thus, the early Pakistani Muslims were one confused lot of people and, to some extent, this confusion still remains.

In fact, you can still see aspects of Hindu culture in our so-called"Islamic" practices. Take the lighting of lanterns on the last seven nights before the end of Ramadan. This is modeled after the Hindu religious celebration of Deepavali, the festival of the lights.

Summary

Pakistani culture is the unique pattern of belief, ideas, values highly influenced by religion of Islam. Islam in Pakistan set the code of ethics for the cultural life of Pakistan. Religious practices of various faiths are an integral part of everyday life in society.

Political Environmental Risk: Before the global recession took place, there was considerable amount of investment in Pakistan as it had a liberal investment policy. However, nowadays the investment scenario has drastically changed with Pakistan losing its attraction to foreign, as well as domestic investors, due to the rising costs of doing business. There are a number of factors due to which investors hesitate to invest in Pakistan, global recession being one of them. The other main reasons consist of political instability, deteriorating law and order situation, high interest rates, and frequent power and gas outages. The recent increase in power and gas tariffs is likely to put an additional burden on the countrys industrial sector and squeeze the gross margins of industries. The local manufacturers forecast more job losses over the next one year. In Pakistan lack of capital is a major obstacle in the way of establishment of heavy industries. The Pakistani society is mostly consumer oriented so the savings rate is hardly 13 to 14 per cent, which is very low. On the other hand, banks follow stern conditions and tiresome procedures while advancing loans to consumers. Mostly bank loans are granted to affluent persons while the smaller businessmen are dejected in a number of ways, for example, by charging higher interest rates. Pakistan is perhaps one of the few countries in the Asian region

where the interest rates are very high. The country lags behind its neighbours in economic development and exports due to high interest rates and energy crisis. As compared to the 12.5 per cent interest rate in Pakistan, Indias current interest rate is at 4.7 per cent, Japan 0.1 per cent and China 5.31 per cent, thus one can clearly see the difference. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)s high policy rate has not only added to the rising business costs, but has also enlarged the size of non- performing loans (NPS) to almost Rs13,448 million (as recorded on 30th October 2009). The effect of the high interest rates resulted in losses for a number of industrial units. Terrorism is yet another reason causing huge losses to the industrialised and trading sectors. The army is attacking the northwestern strongholds of the militants, who have responded with suicide bombings in towns and cities. The marble industry in the Frontier province and the tribal areas is severely hit by the ongoing militancy. All Pakistan Marble Mining Processing Industry and Exporters Association (APMMPIEA) revealed that 300 marble units have closed down and 250 more are on the verge of closure. The industry is said to have shed over 50,000 jobs already. The rising political obstacles in the country are having a negative impact on the economy and stock business. President Asif Ali Zardari is under criticism from opposition parties after the Supreme Court struck down a reprieve that had protected the increasingly unpopular leader and several of his political allies from corruption charges. The ambiguity regarding corruption cases against some sitting ministers, advisors and members of parliament has created uncertainty among the businessmen. Pakistan witnessed many obstacles since the February 18th polls that took place in the year 2008, including restoration of deposed Supreme Court judges and the frequent clashes that occurred between the coalition government and former President Pervez Musharraf. After Musharrafs exit in August 2008, the differences between Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the two major political parties of the nation widened. Under the IMF demand, the government decided to increase the power tariff by 18 per cent in two phases this year, i.e. 12 per cent in January and six per cent in April. The move will bring the already poor performing industries to suffer more. The high tariff and excessive power shortages have enhanced the cost of doing business and badly affected the industrial production and trading activities in the country. The countrys export oriented ind ustry is unable to ensure timely deliveries to its foreign buyers. The loss of export orders has now become a routine, and a large number of importers from US and European Union countries have switched their orders to other regional countries. Cost of doing business in Pakistan has been increased further by poor infrastructure. Transport depends on CNG and oil; both prices have recently risen to a higher level. Pakistan is producing about 20 per cent of its oil requirement. But due to failing efforts to find new reserves and its lavish consumption, this percentage seems to fall in the coming years. The trivial viewpoint that a higher tax rate will generate more tax revenue holds not much logic in the age of diversified business environment. Prevailing business tax rate of 35 per cent is excessively high. A high tax rate essentially gives a way to tax evasion and contracts business

activities in the country. Tax exemption provided to the elite section of the society is unfair and needs to be removed or scaled down. In Pakistan, practices such as red tapism and the long awaited departmental procedures are big barriers in doing business. Licenses, NICs, gas, electricity and water connections etc cannot be achieved easily. The investors have to face the insulting behaviour of the bureaucrats. RedTapism, corruption and malpractices have been successful in preventing easy entry of foreign investors, and those succeeding, their effective participation in economic activities. In fact, retaining investors has never been observed as an area deserving attention of the concerned departments officials. Many hurdles have been linked with five broad groups ranging from purchasing of land and site development to financial and executive regulations, along with taxation related matters. Investors, who are able to start up their businesses in less than eighteen months time period are considered lucky and termed as enterprising or having the right connections. But, in any case they also have to live up with administrative pr ocedures taking up about fifteen per cent of their revenues. Our country is being governed for the last 10 years by bankers with supreme authority and they take measures which are only beneficial to the banking industry. The banking spread in the country (highest in the world) is 7.8 per cent and needs to be cut down by two per cent atleast. This will save us from the control of financial institutions like the IMF, World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The interest rate should be brought down to a single digit. The gross domestic product (GDP) growth has declined due to an economic slowdown following the tight monetary policy. The high interest rates is the main reason behind the fall in the countrys industrial output. The downfall in auto, textile, electronic, petroleum, and other key sectors adversely affected the performance of large scale manufacturing (LSM) in the country. We have no competitive edge, as our exporters are facing a lot of difficulties due to high cost of production. Cutting interest rates to a single digit will produce multiple benefits for the economy, as it will lower the cost of doing business, give a strong boost to business and industrial activities, provide easy credit and loaning facilities to trade and industry, promote better investment and exports, and generate more tax revenue for the government. Sadly, studies highlighting the major problems and suggesting corrective measures have been falling on deaf ears.

Culture of Bangladesh: The culture bears the identity of a the nation. Every free nation must have a culture. Our Bangladeshi culture makes us different from the other nations. We have been cherishing this culture for centuries. And through our these years this culture has mixed in our blood. There is no way of resisting it. Erasing this culture is like erasing our own identity. We have to come forward to protect our culture, after all its our duty to do so.

We have came a long way toward the modernization. And through out this path one thing has always stayed with us and that is our culture. Yes, we Bangladeshis have a culture of thousand years old. This culture has made us different from the others. There no other culture that can be compared in case of its uniqueness. The things that made our culture so unique and diversified are as followsThe Pohayla Baishak From the era of the Jamidars this old age tradition has been celebrated till today. It is celebrated on the first day of the bangla year. During the time of the Jamidars, people came to the Jamidar palace and gave this taxes and The Jamidars also greeted them with sweets and entertained them. Now a day this tradition has become a celebration on this day boys and girls come to the street wearing their traditional dress like panjabies and saries. Specially in Dhaka every on this day a big meala is arranged. People wait eagerly for this Meala. This is a day for the business man, they close their previous accounts and open the new accounts. And they decorate this business place with various things. When customers come they greet them and entertain them with sweets. The celebration of new bangla year has also drawn many foreigners. As long the Bangladesh live this age old tradition will be celebrated with joy and festivity. Jamdani: an ancient fine muslin cloth with geometric or floral designs. Although jamdani usually means sari, there are jamdani scarves, kurtas, turbans, skirts, handkerchiefs, screens and tablecloths as well. In the 17th century, dresses were also made of jamdani fabric. Towards the end of the Mughal Empire, a special type of jamdani cloth used to be made for the Nepalese regional dress 'ranga'. Folk tales: Folk tales may include fairy tales, called rupkatha or parikahini in Bangla. Although called 'fairy tales', all such stories do not necessarily have fairies, but are stories of a prince's adventures and his winning the hand of a beautiful princess or about the rewards bestowed on a kind girl because of her humility, kindness, hard work etc. These stories contain accounts of magical powers, divine help etc. In German, this type of tale is called 'marchen'. Books like Thakurmar Jhuli, Thakurdadar Jhuli, Thandidir Thale etc, edited by dakshinaranjan mitra majumder, are collections of fairy tales. Riddles: Riddles in the main, have a provocative beginning and some of them, towards the end, even hint at prizes. They are mostly full of words that are solely designed to perplex people. Brevity is what can make riddles wittier. They can be composed both in prose and verse. Intellect, subtle observation, creativity, laughter, exercise of retentive faculty, use of allegory, metaphor and simile, the sheer joy of solving problems and wit come together in the making of riddles. Based on the subject-matter, folk riddles may further be divided into: (1) riddles about mankind, god and goddess, such as a) man and his body parts, b) famous people, c) the Puranic stories, and d) gods and goddesses; (2) riddles about nature, such as a) trees and creepers and b) sky, stars and the nature; (3) related to household affairs, such

as a) relatives, b) food items, c) household utensils, d) behaviour and manner and e) rites and rituals; (4) riddles about birds, animals and insects; (5) riddles about musical instruments; (6) related to legends or famous stories; (7) riddles about arithmetic or numbers, and (8) miscellaneous. Alpana: Alpana(Ritual Painting) is a kind of folk art and a spontaneous expression of the artistic sensibility of people. It retains the past experience of the community and, at the same time, is very much contemporary in feeling. It is mainly the womenfolk who have kept the art alive in this part of the subcontinent. They retain connections with age-old traditions and at the same time are bold enough to experiment with new forms and new colours. They are conscious of the changing moods of the seasons and their creativity thus marks the changing cycle of the year. Pottery: Pottery appeared in Bengal, in all probability, in or around 1500 BC. In an alluvial country like Bengal, fine clay is a distinctive geological feature. The ancient inhabitants of the region exploited this natural resource for making numerous potteries. Archaeological sites, such as pandu rajar dhibi, mahisdal, Bharatpur, Mangalkot, chandraketugarh, tamralipti, rajbadidanga, Harinarayanpur and Bangarh of West Bengal and mahasthangarh, govinda bhita, bhasu vihara, wari-bateshwar, Raja Harish Chandrer Badi, mainamati and paharpur of Bangladesh have produced varieties potsherds/potteries, namely Black-and-red Ware, Northern Black Polished Ware, Rouletted Ware, Amphorae, Black-slipped Ware, Knobbed Ware etc. While the potteries from the Chalcolithic and the early historic sites have diagnostic characteristics, the early medieval, medieval and late medieval potteries do not; since in later period metal and other utensils replaced traditional potteries used as utensils and for everyday religious and other household purposes. The main types of potteries are described below: Folk games: Folk games are divided into three groups based on the environment in which the games are played: land, water and sky. Games played on land are known as games of land; those played on water, such as swimming and boat-racing, are games of water; and flying kites or pigeons are games of the sky. The one traditional water sports that is special in Bangladesh is the traditional boat race. In every rainy season the boat men with their boat decorated with traditional arts race in the water of the mighty river Padma Gaye Halud: (literally, turmeric-smeared body) an important part of the marriage rituals in Bangladesh, is a beautifying and blessing ceremony that has been observed since ancient times. Newlyweds are believed to be vulnerable to misfortune and the evil eye. tuorder to give protection to the bride and bridegroom. In Hindu society this ceremony is known as gatra haridra or adhivas and dates back to Vedic times. Muslims refer to it as gaye halud, haldi kota, tilwayi, kud deoya, etc. Though Muslims from Persia, Arabia, Turkestan brought with them their own marriage rituals, they adapted many local customs and rituals including gaye halud.

We have been cherishing these cultural events for decades, but due to the cultural assault we are about to loose these vital parts of our culture. In this jungle of high rise buildings small boys and girls are rarely seen playing games . More over due to the presence of various dish channels we are about to lose our own identity and some mobile companies are creating extra problem. To day boys and girls can hardly say about our own history and glory. The way every thing is going today on thing is sure that we will loose our valuable culture. It is the high time we did some thing to protect the culture. We have to take every possible measures to stop this cultural aggression. Our young generations have to made conscious about our own cultural values. In the end one thing should be remembered No nation can survive with out its culture. And in order to hold the future we have to have a strong grip of our culture. It is the moral duty of every senior citizen to make our young generation aware of their own culture. But are we there? Are we actually bothered about this things Economic growth continues in Bangladesh, although at a slower pace, during the world economic slowdown. Bangladesh has achieved steady economic growth at 5% or more per year over the past decade. Its growth exceeded 6 percent in FY 2008, reached 5.9% in FY 2009, and is expected to slow slightly to 5.5% in FY 2010, thanks primarily to sluggish exports and private investment. However, more supportive external conditions are expected to lead to an increase in growth to around 6% in FY 2011.The most important factors fostering economic growth in Bangladesh have been its macroeconomic stability and outward orientation. Major impediments to economic development have been weak government, political instability, a weak banking system, and an unreliable power supply. Bangladesh continues to rank near the bottom of Transparency Internationals corruption perception index for 2009 (despite an improvement over 2008). Interest rate spreads exceed regional averages, and water and power outages significantly reduce total factor productivity in both agriculture and manufacturing. Mobilization of public revenues will also remain a major challenge in the immediate future. Economic growth in 2009 was positive despite the global economic crisis. Nevertheless, the countrys battle against poverty is not progressing as rapidly as anticipated. The welfare impact of the crisis is felt most by households employed outside agriculture and/or receiving remittances from abroad. In addition, pressure from food price increases since 2008 continue to affect household incomes. According to World Bank estimates, poverty levels in Bangladesh, although still very high, declined from 2000 to 2005. The percentage of the population living in poverty (less than $2 a day in purchasing power) fell from 85% to 81% while the percentage living in severe poverty (less than $1.25 a day in purchasing power) declined from 58% to 51%. Prior to the crisis, Bangladesh was on target to cut poverty by nearly 11 percentage points between 2005 and 2010. With the impact of the crisis, the poverty rate is now projected to fall by about 9 percentage points. This translates to around 2.4 million additional poor people in 2010 due to the crisis, according to the World Bank.

Growth is slowing in 2010, hampered by domestic supply-side constraints. The World Bank and the IMF both maintain that lack of reliable power and gas supply is a major constraint on businesses in Bangladesh. Total gas production declined in 2009, as have gas sales to the power sector, resulting in frequent power cuts. Even businesses with their own power plants have been disrupted due to the gas shortages. Industrial production in apparel, ceramics, fabrics, steel, and particles are among the hardest hit. Within the apparel sector, knitwear is especially vulnerable because spinning, dyeing, and finishing factories need uninterrupted gas supply for full production. Industry trade associations report that irregular gas supply caused a 50% decline in textile production, and orders are going unfulfilled. Gas rationing measures implemented at the end of January 2010 have resulted in factories being shut down one day per week. Unless there is a significant easing of this energy bottleneck, firms are likely to maximize production based on existing capital stock rather than fresh investment.The political environment for economic growth is currently stable following the December 2008 election but threats remain. The election returned the Awami League to power after two years of rule by a transitional government. Provided that it retains the support of the military, the current government is expected to remain in power and dominate policy making for the next several years. The government faces no immediate challenge to its rule, but there are two potential sources of political instability in 2010-11: namely an escalation in social unrest and a new campaign of violence waged by militant groups. Although the present regime is regarded as business-friendly, the business environment in Bangladesh is mediocre at best and is continuing to decline. Bangladesh ranked 119 th in the world (out of 181 countries) on the Ease of Doing Business Index in the World Banks Doing Business 2010. This marks the countrys second annual decline, dropping from 109 th in the previous year. This means that other countries are reforming their business environments faster than Bangladesh. Areas of particular weakness in the business environment of Bangladesh are enforcing contracts (where Bangladesh ranks a dismal 180th), registering property (176th), employing workers (124th), and dealing with construction permits (118th). Of these, only employing workers experienced a positive change from the previous year. According to Doing Business, enforcing a commercial contract in Bangladesh involves 41 procedures, takes nearly four years, and costs 63% of the claim. Registering property involves eight procedures, takes 245 days, and costs 10% of the value of the property. On the other hand, Bangladesh is outstanding in the area of protecting investors, where it ranks 20 th in the world. For protecting investors, Bangladesh ranks close to mean OECD levels on indexes of disclosure, director liability, and shareholder suits.

Further financial sector development is needed to allow Bangladesh to achieve its growth potential. Bangladesh continues to lag behind that of comparator countries in the area of financial sector development. While its true that the regulatory framework has been strengthened, supervision has been enhanced, and steps have been taken to restructure and privatize the large nationalized commercial banks, there is still a need to strengthen the countrys crisis management and liquidity support frameworks. Potential vulnerabilities in the banking sector include uneven loan classification, provisioning, and capital. Non-prudential government interventionsuch as interest rate ceilings, moral suasion, directed credit, and explicit requirements to ease debt service for some sectors of the economyincreases risks, reduces transparency, and creates inefficiencies. In addition, market discipline is affected by inadequate information stemming from non-transparent accounting and reporting. The FY 2011 budget is both expansionary and progressive, taxing the richer people with high taxes on luxury items, while offering rural subsidies and poverty reduction programs. The new budget will increase per capita budget expenditure from $90 in FY 2009 to $129 in FY 2011. The budget also aims to revive the declining trend of the Annual Development Program (ADP). ADP as a percentage of total expenditure has been falling since FY 2005 when it was 36.9%. In FY 2009 this stood at 21.7%, and plans are to increase this to 36.5% by FY 2015. The other stated aims of the FY 2011 budget are to: continue efforts to mitigate the adverse lagged impact of the global financial crisis; take advantage of the opportunities in view of global economic recovery; and factor-in regional dimensions of development. Revenue collection in the latest reported period increased by 17.1% relative to the same period last fiscal year, driven by 26.1% growth in domestic indirect taxes and 19.3% growth in income tax collections. The impressive growth in domestic-based taxes is due largely to improved ADP implementation, higher tax rates, broadening of tax base, and improved compliance. The FY 2010 budget reverses the trend toward trade liberalization by raising some import duties and lowering duties on imported raw materials, increasing effective protection. The average protection rate was increased from 20.1% to 22.9%, mainly through wider imposition of para-tariffs and the introduction of a 5% regulatory duty. Although customs duties have been reduced on 865 items, the benefits are offset by wider application of a supplementary duty. These measures favor domestic producers over consumers. They have received a positive reaction from business interests, who welcome assistance with selling in the local market at a time when overseas demand is weakening. However, they hurt exporters and will have a negative impact on Bangladeshs competitiveness in the longer run. Inflation increased sharply in early 2010, driven by food and fuel prices. A shortfall in domestic rice production, rising world food prices, and high food inflation in India were contributing factors. Average annual inflation for FY 2010 is expected to reach 8%, up from 6.06% in FY 2009. An incremental tightening of monetary policy, as announced in the Monetary Policy Statement

for the second half of FY 2010, could help dampen inflationary pressures, despite the significant upward pressure related to world food prices and domestic production. In FY 2011, inflationary pressures are expected to ease slightly due to more moderate expected increases in global commodity prices and stable macroeconomic policy.

Worker remittances, while important to the Bangladeshi economy, are poised to decline, according to the World Bank. Bangladesh is among the top ten remittance-receiving countries. Workers from Bangladesh have taken advantage of the opportunities that globalization has afforded for poor and unskilled workers to improve their lives and those of their families. These remittances provide substantial benefits to their families in Bangladesh, and in fact were the chief driver behind private consumption so far in FY2010. However, migration continued its downward trend with 43.5 percent fewer workers finding employment abroad in FY10 (JulyDec) compared to FY09. Moreover, a reported 72,000 migrant workers have returned home in calendar year 2009, which is one third more than in 2008. However, growth in public consumption is likely to remain robust because of fuller implementation of the public sector pay increase package, possible increase in energy and fertilizer subsidies, and further expansion of safety net programs.

Bangladesh continues to face formidable natural challenges. With 90% of its landmass lying less than ten meters above mean sea level, Bangladesh has repeatedly suffered horrendous human and property losses from storms and flooding. In the longer run, global warming threatens to reduce its area by a sizable amount through a rising sea level. Beyond damaging or destroying natural coastal defenses, sea level rise could disrupt local livelihoods and worsen food insecurity. Bangladeshs soil and groundwater could become increasingly saline, and salinization will also drive warm water further inland. As a result, the threat posed by climate change goes beyond the coastal areas to much of the country.