Dhaka: Mentioning that science and technologies are like flowing rivers, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said the government will do whatever is needed to cope with the fast-changing world to ensure a brighter future for the young generation.

‘To cope with the fast-changing world, we’ll surely take the steps which are needed for the brighter and beautiful future of the young generation,’ she said.

The Prime Minister said this while officially inaugurating the mobile number portability (MNP) service at her official residence Ganobhaban, reports the UNB.

Sheikh Hasina said she has sacrificed her present and future of her life for the young generation who will lead the country in the coming days.

‘The pace of the country’s progress what we have achieved must not stop...we want to maintain it,’ she said.

Hasina mentioned that the youth is the biggest strength of a country and if they can be built with proper education they will have a beautiful life.

She said new technologies have opened an immense scope for the socioeconomic development of the country. ‘We’re utilising these and will do the same in the future, too.’

The Prime Minister said science and technologies are like flowing rivers as newer technologies are coming up. ‘And we’ll have to follow that as the new generation needs to be groomed in that way so that they can build the modern technology-based ‘Golden Bengal’.’

Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar, State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Posts and Telecommunications Secretary Shyam Sunder Sikder and Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Md Jahirul Haque also spoke on the occasion.

Speaking at the programme, Posts and Telecommunications Secretary Shyam Sunder Sikder said the Finance Ministry has agreed to waive the SIM tax for getting the new SIM for availing of the MNP service.

He also said the National Board of Revenue (NBR) will issue a circular very soon in this connection.

The MNP service allows a subscriber to change telecom carrier keeping the same phone number. The much-awaited MNP service was launched on October 1.

BTRC has fixed Tk 50 for availing of the service at the customer level.

The operator will be changed 72 hours after applying for the MNP and a customer will have to wait for 90 days if they want to change operators again.