Economy now in comfortable state: Finance Adviser

The country’s overall economy is currently in a comfortable state, Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed has remarked.

On Tuesday, October 7, he made the comment while responding to reporters after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase at the Secretariat.

Salehuddin Ahmed said, “Economically I am at ease. That is why we are somewhat confident.”

When asked about the World Bank report on rising poverty, the adviser said, “I do not want to go into theoretical discussions now. To say poverty has risen or exists—these require a lot of explanation. I know how they measure poverty—what base they take, how they collect data.”

He added, “Suppose, by taking phone interviews of 5,000 people, someone says poverty has increased—how reliable is that, that is the question. If you ask a firm, they can bring you 20,000 replies tomorrow. These are issues of reliability. But I do not deny there are challenges.”

Quoting Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen on poverty measurement, he said, “Amartya Sen once said—measuring poverty is not that difficult. You can tell by looking at a poor person—on their face, their appearance, their movements.”

Asked again whether the economy is truly in comfort, he replied, “Economically I am at ease. Therefore we are somewhat confident. But I cannot say anything right now about other aspects.”