Bangladesh government introduced prize bonds in 1974 to encourage people to save.
The government usually borrows money from people by selling this bond which is issued by the Department of National Savings (DNS).
The government-run savings programme is called 'Bangladesh Prize Bond'. By selling it, the government borrows directly from the people. It is basically a financial product of the DNS and Bangladesh Bank (BB) takes care of everything of this bond, reports UNB.
Officials of the BB and DNS said that although many people bought prize bonds with a keen interest in reversing their fortunes, many were too lazy to match the draw results.
Many people do not match the number of prize bonds due to negligence. Many cannot even get the prize money, although the government has the opportunity to claim the prize money within the two years of the result, they said.
If none of the winners claimed the prize money within the two years, it expired and returned to the government treasury.
After the draw, the winner is given a pay-order within a maximum of two months if he applies in the prescribed form along with the original bond.
The government has to pay 20 per cent withholding tax on the prize money. According to the central bank, there are about 50 million prize bonds in the country.
This prize bond is also known as prize bond and lottery bond. Some people call it an interest free bond as it has no interest. Money can be refunded at any time by breaking the prize bond. Both redemption and purchase can be done from all cash offices of Bangladesh Bank, any commercial bank and post office.
The draw worth Tk 100 prize bond is held four times a year. The dates are 31st January, 30th April, 31st July and 31st October.
A committee headed by the Divisional Commissioner of Dhaka conducts the draw. However, two months after the purchase, the prize bond comes under draw.
The prize bond has 46 prizes for each series, worth Tk 1.6 million. The first prize is Tk 600,000, the second prize is Tk 325,000, the third prize is two Tk 100,000 for each, the fourth prize is two, and 5th prize is 40 prizes of Tk 10,000 each.