Professor Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud was honoured with the Bangladesh Bank (BB) Award-2020 on Thursday for his extraordinary contributions in the country's economy.
The award committee of the central bank, headed by its governor, chose Dr Mahmud in recognition of his contribution to the country.
The award was officially handed over to the economist at a programme held at the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) auditorium in Mirpur-2 of the capital.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, who was present at the event as the chief guest, handed over a gold medal, a crest of Bangladesh Bank and Tk 500,000 as the award.
Prof Mahmud was born on July 1, 1948 in Noakhali district. His father Ali Ahmed Chowdhury was a government official and mother Saleha Khatun a housewife.
He obtained his BA (Hons) degree in Economics from Dhaka University in 1968, securing first place in the first class.
Dr Mahmud started teaching economics at Dhaka University in 1969. He was promoted to professor in 1984 and retired in 2011.
He is currently the senior country advisor at the International Growth Centre and chairman of the Bangladesh Economic Research Group.
Dr Mahmud has authored more than 50 important publications and research papers on basic economics.
The past Bangladesh Bank award recipients are: Rehman Sobhan (2000), Nurul Islam (2009), Mosharraf Hossain (2011), Muzaffar Ahmed and Swadesh Ranjan Bose (2013), and Azizur Rahman Khan and Mahbub Hossain (2017).
Speaking at the programme, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal lauded Prof Mahmud's role in the country's economy and development planning.
Dr Mahmud has been an enlightened human being in his personal and professional life, said the minister, adding that the economist was a deserving person for the award. Bangladesh Bank Governor Fazle Kabir chaired the event.
