The cabinet on Monday approved a draft of the National Industrial Policy 2016 raising the direct investment ceiling for foreigners to US$ 10 lakh from US$ 5 lakh to get Bangladesh citizenship. The industries ministry placed the draft, an updated version of the similar policy of 2010, at the weekly cabinet meeting chaired by prime minister Sheikh Hasina at the secretariat. ‘The foreigners will have to invest at least US$ 10 lakh or transfer an amount of US$ 20 lakh to any government-approved financial institution in Bangladesh from now on to get the citizenship here,’ cabinet secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam told a press conference after the meeting. He said the provision offering citizenship to foreign investors was kept in the policy although very few of them avail the opportunity. Any foreigner seeking temporary residence facilities will have to invest minimum US$ 2 lakh up from the previous ceiling of US$ 75,000, the cabinet secretary said. The cabinet also endorsed a draft of the Prime Minister’s Education Assistance Trust (Amendment) Bill, 2016 incorporating provisions to offer scholarships to post-graduate, M Phil and PhD students, Shafiul said, adding that the scholarships were provided to students up to the graduate level only under the present law. He said the amended law would allow the government to formulate a policy as the existing law allows the government to formulate rules. The cabinet, however, sent back the draft Cantonment Bill, 2016 for further scrutiny. ‘The Cantonment Act of 1924 has been updated in the draft. But the defence ministry has been asked to place it again in the cabinet meeting after further examination,’ the cabinet secretary said.
