Cabinet okays drafts of BADC, PIB Acts

The Cabinet on Monday approved the drafts of the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) Act, 2018 and the Bangladesh Press Institute (PIB) Act, 2018, with necessary revision and amendment into the two existing laws.

The approval was given in the weekly meeting of the cabinet held at Prime Minister's Office (PMO) with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Md Shafiul Alam said the cabinet has given the final approval to both of the drafts.

He said the BADC Act, 2018 will replace the East Pakistan Ordinance No 37 of 1961, which were amended in 1975 and 1976 during the military regime. 

In line with the directives of the Cabinet following the Supreme Court order in 2010, which declared the military regimes and their orders illegal, the cabinet has framed the BADC act newly in Bangla with necessary amendment, Shafiul said.

As per law the corporation works mainly for development of the seeds and grove, extension of the irrigation facilities, supply of fertiliser, production and marketing of different seeds, construction of irrigation infrastructures and rainwater harvesting. 

The Board of Directors of the BADC will be comprised of a chairman to be appointed by the government, a secretary and five fulltime members. 

The board will be comprised of the Registrar of the Department of Cooperatives, Director General of the BRDB, Director General of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Executive Chairman of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC), a joint secretary respectively from agriculture ministry and finance ministry, a member of the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board, representatives of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) and five directors of the corporation.

The Bangladesh Press Institute Act, 2018 will bring the institute under a framework which so far was being operated by a resolution of the government adopted on August 18, 1976.

The main activities of the PIB will be giving training to the media personnel working in print and electronic media, as well as public relation officers of any government, statutory bodies or private organisations, the draft said.

The institute will award certificate to the trained persons and prepare curriculum for the training courses, build up technological facilities for development of the journalism profession and give award to a journalist for outstanding contribution to the profession, the draft said.

The law has defined the terminology 'journalist' saying a journalist will be a fulltime worker in any print media, electronic and online media or new agency. Editor, news editor, deputy editor, assistant editor, feature writer, reporter, correspondent, copy writer, cartoonist, photographer, editorial assistant and any other person to be declared by the government will be considered as journalist.

Under the law, the cabinet secretary said, the Institute will have a Board of Directors head by a chairman and Director General of the PIB as the member secretary.

The board will be comprised of a joint secretary level officer of the information ministry, a representative respectively from the ministries of public administration and finance, Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board, and Principal Information Office (PIO), Chairman of Mass Communication and Journalism Department of Dhaka University, editors of two widely circulated newspapers, a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or editor of an electronic media, two journalists nominated by the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) and two distinguished media persons nominated by the government. 

Tenure of the nominated members will be for two years, the cabinet secretary said, adding that the government can relieve a member from the board without showing any cause.