A total of 443,000 migrant workers returned to the country between April 2020 to May 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad told this in parliament on Wednesday responding to a tabled question from Awami League MP Mamunur Rashid Kiran.
He said that the government has taken various steps for the socio-economic rehabilitation of the migrant workers who returned to the country, reports UNB.
The minister said that under the government's declared incentive package, Tk 4.29 billion was given to 15,706 as a rehabilitation loan. In addition, 52,074 migrant workers were given Tk 11.06 billion as loans with a low-interest rate for going abroad again.
Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumdar told parliament that as of January 8, the government food warehouse has 1.83 million tonnes of food grains.
Responding to a question of AL MP Ali Azam, the food minister said of the total food grains, there are 0.36 million tonnes of wheat and 1.47 million tonnes of rice and 1,381 tonnes of paddy.
He said the government has a target of importing 1.0 million tonnes of rice in the current financial year.
Of these, the government has already taken measures to import 0.37 million tonnes of rice from India, Vietnam and Myanmar under the G2G system.