4th Industrial Revolution and Bangladesh

“The Fourth Industrial Revolution is not about new Apps or new technologies. It is
about a new era, new ways of thinking and new ways of doing business.”

- Nicky Verd, (Book: Disrupt Yourself or Be Disrupted)

In the recent decade, the term Industry 4.0 or Fourth Industrial Revolution is a common
buzzword represents the adoption of disruptive digital technologies in the production
process which is transforming the manufacturing units into smart factories and
experiencing a great change in the global value chain. Moreover, these revolutionary
digital technologies have a profound impact on the economy, growth, globalization,
governments, international trade, global supply chain, and human capital transformation,
etc. Bangladesh is also gearing up for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). With its
immense potential, both positive and negative, 4IR is being introduced in the national
sphere of Bangladesh, influencing the policies and industries for the coming years.

History of Industrial Revolutions:

Professor Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum
(WEF), first coined the term fourth industrial revolution.

Fourth Industrial Revolution:

“The Fourth Industrial Revolution represents a fundamental change in the way
we live, work and relate to one another.”- World Economic Forum
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is the current and developing environment in which
disruptive technologies and trends such as Internet of things, Big Data, 3D printing, Cloud
computing, Autonomous robots, Virtual reality, Augmented reality, Self-driving car,
Cyber-physical system, Artificial intelligence, Smart sensors, Nanotechnology, Drones,
and Biotechnology, etc. are changing the way modern people live and work. The
integration of these technologies into manufacturing practices is known as Industry 4.0.

Technologies used in Fourth Industrial Revolution:

Opportunities of 4th Industrial Revolution:
Leading researchers argue that the fourth industrial revolution will shape the future.
However, we can predict the opportunities that comes with the fourth industrial revolution:

1) lower barriers between inventors and markets

2) more active role for the artificial intelligence (AI),
3) integration of different technics and domains (fusion),
4) improved quality of our lives (robotics)
5) the connected life (Internet).
6) Effects of automation reduce workplace risk,
7) Increase control in manufacturing industry,
8) Big changes in the health and medical sector,
9) Increasing demand for specialized professions.
s

WEF also reports that 70% of the 169 SDG targets are supported directly by 4IR
innovations.
Arena of Fourth Industrial Revolution
The 4th Industrial revolution includes artificial intelligence, data analytics, using the
Internet of Things (IoT), Network systems, digitalization of things, etc. The 4th Industrial
revolution will occur in following 3 phases:

Phase 1
•Usage of algorithms and digitizing simple tasks
•Making everyday life easier

Phase 2
•Mechanization of agriculture, service industry
and majority of the manufacturing industries

Phase 3
•Full-on usages of artificial intelligence and
robotics

Potentiality for Fourth Industrial Revolution:

 Effects of automation reduce workplace risk,

 Increase control in manufacturing industry,
 Big changes in the health and medical sector,
 Increasing demand for specialized professions,
 Improving overall quality of life,
Global Impact of the Industry 4.0:
“The Fourth Industrial Revolution, finally, will change not only what we do but also who
we are. It will affect our identity and all the issues associated with it: our sense of privacy,
our notions of ownership, our consumption patterns, the time we devote to work and
leisure, and how we develop our careers, cultivate our skills, meet people, and nurture
relationships.”- Klaus Schwab In his book “The Fourth Industrial Revolution

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is reshaping every sphere of human life — from
government to commerce; from education to healthcare. It is even impacting human values,
opportunities, relationships and identities by modifying virtual as well as physical worlds
of human beings.
 For the advancements in latest technological innovations, the power and types of
digital devices, computing devices and networks are rapidly developing day by day.
This is making education and various information easily accessible.
 Gradual evolution of technologies and scientific innovations are leading to the
creation of new educational disciplines, which is, finally leading to more scopes for
better opportunities. Fourth Industrial Revolution is enhancing the facilities for the
development as well as innovation of new skills. Fourth Industrial Revolution
emphasizes growth of knowledge and thirsts for learning. Application oriented
courses are more preferable than bookish education.
 Due to the continuous technological development, online social media, such as,
Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook etc. are becoming more and more active. Everyone is
able to express and highlight their views about any contemporary incident or event
easily before the world through these social media platforms.
 Communication is becoming easier steadily. Through WhatsApp, IMO, Messenger
etc., people can comfortably connect with and contact their relatives, friends or
anyone across the world. Video calling or chat is helping in compressing distances
and making people happier.
 Lands are not essential for building markets. Online shopping sites and quick
delivery services are making commodities accessible at home as well as increasing
economic benefits. The online customer service agents also provide smart
recommendations to customers.
 The World is becoming a global village, where billions of people as well as products
are easily accessible.
 Progress in medical sciences, neurosciences etc., due to Fourth Industrial
Revolution, are leading to healthier lives; advanced intellectual and mental
capability; and longer life spans.
 Agriculture is also influenced by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Greater amounts
of Crops can be yielded with the help of Bioengineering. With the help of the
machines, powered by artificial intelligence, measuring crop populations and
detection of weeds or plant pests are also becoming easier. Robotic sprayers are also
available for the application of herbicides.
 Due to the advancement in digital technology, workers are becoming free from
automatable jobs and can engage themselves for solving complicated business
issues. This is making them more autonomous.
 Carbon emissions, road fatalities and insurance costs minimize because of the
advancements in automotive safety due to the advancing technologies of Fourth
Industrial Revolution.
 No need of standing on road and waiting for transportations. People can book cars
or vehicles online and avail them at their doorsteps. Due to the grace of Fourth
Industrial Revolution, autonomous or driverless vehicles may be available soon.
  With the help of online banking facility, people do not need to go to banks for
transactions or other important works at bank. Maximum bank-works may be
accomplished from home.
 E-Governance is also possible in the era of Fourth Industrial Revolution with the
help of new technological innovations. The new technology also helps the
government in modernizing executive organizations and functions. E-Governance
ensures accountability and transparency as well as strengthen the relationship
between the government and the citizens.
 Online jobs provide people to work from and earn at home.
 Fourth Industrial Revolution emphasizes self-employment.

4th Industrial Revolution and Bangladesh:

“Bangladesh missed three industrial revolutions before it could even notice them, but
the country will lead the fourth”- Mustafa Jabbar, Minister of Post and
Telecommunication of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is on the verge of the fourth industrial revolution. Bangladesh is well situated
to take advantage of 4IR. Bangladesh has done all its needs to prepare for digital integration
during or after the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

“Bangladesh will be the key leader of 4th Industrial Revolution.”-Sajeeb Wazed

Joy
Bangladesh has largely advanced in the technological front during the last decade.
Advancement of Bangladesh in Industry 4.0:
Bangladesh is being prepared to adapt to the technology of the future. With the introduction
of the "Digital Bangladesh" to “Smart Bangladesh” ideology, the government had started
to take steps in the right direction. Some of the country’s advancements in this sector are
as follows:

 Soon after the victory in 1971, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman launched a ground satellite station at Betbunia in the Rangamati district.
He took initiative to reform all sectors including information technology to take the
country's economy forward.
 On May 12, 2018, Bangladesh entered the space era with the successful launching
of its first satellite Bangabandhu-1. With this technological feat, Bangladesh became
the 57th nation to have its own satellite in outer space. The country is expecting to
launch ‘Bangabandhu-2’ satellite in 2023.
 Bangladesh got connected with its first undersea cable, SEA-ME-WE 4, in 2006 and
with the second one, SEA-ME-WE 5, in 2017. The country now has a bandwidth
capacity of 2,600 Gbps from two submarine cables. The country is going to be
connected with a third submarine cable to meet the rapidly growing demand for
internet bandwidth and ensure uninterrupted broadband internet services.
 Skilled manpower is essential for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. To this purpose
39 high-tech parks have been established as well as various groundbreaking
programs are being taken and implemented.
 Bangladesh has progressed a lot in the digital front including the recent start of
blockchain-based supply chain finance. 20000 MT of fuel oil was exported to
Singapore using this process and the LC-processing time was reduced from 5-10
days to only 24 hours thanks to the amazing technology.
 All 4,501 Union Parishads in the country's 64 districts have already been included
in the digital network.
 The main services of the government especially land registration, birth and death
registration, university admission or job application etc. are being delivered digitally
to the doorsteps of the citizens.
 With a view to reducing time, cost, visit and hassle, Bangladesh Bank has introduced
an automated tendering process called e-tendering in May, 2010.
 The mobile banking system of Bangladesh has changed a lot through bKash, Rocket,
Nagad etc. Marginalized people can easily transact money without opening a bank
account. Now every day there is a transaction of about one thousand crore takas.
 Dhaka is emerging as a freelance IT and IT-enabled services outsourcing (ITES)
center. Bangladesh ranked 147 out of 176 on the most recent International
Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) ICT Development Index, a report that captures
the level of ICT development.

 According to the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services

(BASIS), over 1,500 software and IT-related companies have registered in
Bangladesh.
 Government has taken initiatives to build IT-Village and Hi-Tech Park to develop
software, data-entry, and data-processing industries.
 The government will set up six specialized labs at software technology parks, high-
tech parks and Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Centre to provide training.
The project will enable 2,400 people to receive training in the Internet of Things,
machine learning, robotics, artificial intelligence, extended reality and other
advanced subjects in the next two years.
 Bangladesh is launching 5G Network Service soon. It will completely change the
business model, education system, standard of living, and conventional digital and
social media.
 'ICT in Education Master Plan' has been introduced for a skill-based and befitting
education system, every branch of education will be assimilated to ICT sector.
33,285 Multimedia classrooms have been set up in some chosen schools. Moreover,
46,340 multimedia classrooms are under the procedure of setting up. 2,306 computer
labs have already been set up in many selected schools and colleges.
 The Prime Minister has declared that government will establish Bangabandhu Novo
Theatre in each of the eight divisions to enable the children to get better education
on science and technology.
 The Government has started the work of setting up 12 science and technology
universities and has already established 15 polytechnic institutes and three women's
polytechnic institutes.
 Government is investing in National Science and Technology (NST) Fellowship
sector to encourage more research works on science and technology.
Challenges in this sector:
As the disruptive technologies of the fourth Industrial revolution continue changing
every sphere of our life i.e. production, economy, business, governments and countries,
society and cultural interactions in the world around us, so the new challenges arise.
Some of them are:

 Industry 4.0 needs high and huge capital for the implementations of smart
economic infrastructure, smart business model adaptation, economic benefits,
competitors. In the case of Bangladesh, more than 90% of businesses are Micro,
Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), so arranging a large amount of capital
for innovative technology for them is a big constraint.
 WEF’s report, “Future of Jobs” estimates that about 75 million jobs will be
displaced due to the technologies of 4IR.
 The poor infrastructure of the country, such as poor road and transportation, more
prone to natural disaster, technological device markets and productions are still
creating the barriers for the Bangladeshi key planners to think regarding industry
4.0.
 There are issues of internet hacking, as a result, security problems are
exacerbated by the data interconnectedness and weak digital infrastructure.
 Lack of proper IT education and skilled manpower is a great barrier in this sector.
 A great amount of population of the country lives in rural areas who are deprived
of basic amenities of modern life. It is a huge challenge to digitalize the lifestyle
of this cohort.
 Our trade ecosystem is not yet fully digitalized while in another part of the world,
 High price and slow speed of internet in the rural and suburban areas of the
country is another major challenge.
 Automation technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, 3D printing, Augmented
Reality or Virtual Reality none of these have been largely implemented in
garment factories of the country which is not ideal to stay competitive in the
global market, because a garment industry running with the use of these
technologies will yield a much higher productivity and close to zero wastage.
 Another area Bangladesh that is not fully prepared for this revolution is the
education sector. The current curricula in schools and colleges neither teach the
soft skills needed for 4IR nor many of the 4IR technologies are taught about in
various computer science courses of different universities.
Ways to overcome the challenges:
 Ensuring uninterruptible power supply throughout the country.
 Making internet price affordable and ensuring high speed internet connectivity at the
union/village levels.
 Ensuring 5G connectivity offered at an affordable cost.
 Creating robust data centers that can support the government requirements and serve
the businesses.
 Infrastructure development and creating a user-friendly environment.
 Building awareness among the authorities, policymakers, businesses and industries,
academicians, employees, and consumers.
 Increasing investment and research work in several areas, such as Internet broadband
disbursement, IT security and cyber security.
 Launching automation technologies in Mills and Factories especially in Garments
sector.
 Seeking out new opportunities and identifying areas that are ready for change and
lead to increased productivity.
 Set out the goals and work with the industry leaders to direct the latter into new kinds
of technology to address customers' needs better.
 The education system needs to be overhauled with an extensive focus on Science,
Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) Education. Moreover, practical ICT
education should be introduced from the primary level.
"The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4RI) is knocking at our door. We have to build
efficient human work forces capable of working for the revolution.” – Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina

We must recognize that the 4th Industrial Revolution is looming just around the corner. To
prepare for the 4IR, Bangladesh's approach needs to be holistic. The full potential of 4IR
can only be enjoyed through extensive research, smart planning and timely
implementation.

Sources:
1. Albd.org
2. National Strategy plan for Artificial Intelligence-Bangladesh
3. The Daily observer
4. The Daily Star
5. Bangladeshpost.net
6. Prothomalo.com
7. Weforum.org