Bangladesh industry group calls for biometric registry of factory owners for digital government services

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has announced it is preparing a biometric database of factory owners to facilitate the digitalization of government services, New Age reports.

The announcement was made through a circular issued by BGMEA on Monday, calling for factory owners to deposit their biometric data between January 21 and February 25.

BGMEA will collect individuals’ fingerprints, signatures, and face data, which will be used to claim assistance from any stimulus package announced by the government, membership renewal, ownership transfers, visa services, online UD processing, and cash incentives. These services will be digitalized in line with the government’s vision of Digital Bangladesh, and according to BGMEA president Rubana Huq, will only be provided to individuals who will have deposited their biometric data at the time of their application for a specific service.

The industry body has also built a biometric database of approximately 2.6 million clothes-manufacturing workers, according to the report.

More than 4,000 RMG (ready-made garment) factories are reportedly affiliated with the BGMEA in Bangladesh at the time of writing, with roughly 1,900 of their units now active.

The country has in the past few months discussed a variety of biometric-powered initiatives, including for voter registration, newborn healthcare, and financial institutions.

Article Topics

Bangladesh  |  biometric database  |  biometric enrollment  |  biometrics  |  data collection  |  digital identity  |  government services