POBNEWS24, Dhaka, Feb 18, 2026 : Dr. Yunus got a great opportunity to alleviate poverty by taking the responsibility of the chief advisor to the interim government of Bangladesh. The reality is that he could not utilize that opportunity. However, one of the famous philosophy of Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Muhammad Yunus is to ‘send poverty to a museum’. During his tenure, 3 million new people in Bangladesh became poor.
Experts say that after the fall of the Awami League government through the mass uprising created by the anti-discrimination student movement, he took oath as the chief advisor to the interim government on August 8, 2024. He appointed an advisory council and special assistants of his choice to handle the responsibility properly. In addition, he had extensive support from the political and student forces supporting the uprising, including BNP-Jamaat-NCP. That is why Dr. Yunus had a great opportunity to bring about poverty alleviation, corruption prevention, trade and commerce stability in the financial sector through comprehensive reforms in the state structure. He failed to seize that opportunity.
Eminent economist and former VC of Jahangirnagar University Professor Abdul Bayes said that after he took charge of the government as an economist, the people of the country expected that the troubled economy would turn around. However, during his time, the economy has collapsed. Except for the increase in expatriate income and reserves, all economic indicators were down. There was a crisis of confidence in business and trade. The production of industries and factories was down. There were no new initiatives, nor did domestic and foreign investment come. On the contrary, unemployment and the number of poor people in the country increased. According to the World Bank, an international organization, about 3 million new poor people were created during Dr. Yunus’s tenure.
Average private sector investment is the lowest in four decades: Until June 2024, the average private sector investment rate was 24 percent of GDP. In June 2025, it decreased to 22.48 percent. According to a report by private research institute CPD, the implementation of the Annual Development Program or ADP was the lowest in the last 10 years. The implementation rate of the conventional ADP as government investment was 11.5 percent from July to November. No ADP has been implemented lower than this in the last 10 years.
The highest default loan rate in the world: At the end of the September quarter of 2025 (September 30), the default loan balance of the country’s banks stood at Tk 6,44,515 crore, which is 35.73 percent of the disbursed loans. At the end of December of the previous year, 20.2 percent of the disbursed loans were defaulted. Meanwhile, the amount of default loans in the banking sector has increased unprecedentedly. A review of the research institute’s data has shown that the default loan rate in the banking sector of Bangladesh is now the highest in the world.
Debt burden of 23 lakh crore taka: Dr. Yunus left the elected government with a debt burden of 23 lakh crore taka. According to Bangladesh Bank data, the amount of government debt taken from domestic and foreign sources at the end of the 2024-25 fiscal year was 22 lakh 50 thousand 904 crore taka. During the July-December period of the current fiscal year, Dr. Yunus’s interim government took 61 thousand 148 crore taka from banking sources. Apart from this, foreign loans of about 13 thousand crore taka were taken during the period under discussion.
Inflation higher than wage rate: In December, the inflation rate was 8.5 percent. At the same time, the wage growth rate was below 8.1 percent. It is seen that the inflation rate is still higher than the consumer wage growth rate. Due to this, people are spending more than their income. Purchasing power has decreased. However, the government has increased the policy interest rate to reduce inflation. As a result, the interest rate on bank loans has increased. Private sector debt has fallen to its lowest level. Operating expenses in business have increased.
When all economic indicators have collapsed, the country’s foreign exchange reserves have increased. Dr. Muhammad Yunus proudly mentioned this increase in reserves in his farewell speech. Describing the economic situation, he said, ‘I am relieved now that we have been able to cope with the situation.
Our reserves are now $34 billion. The reserves are increasing with remittances from expatriates. Food inflation has decreased significantly.’
Promises, responsibilities and benefits: In his first address to the nation after assuming office, Dr. Yunus promised to strengthen local government institutions to consolidate democracy, ensure decentralization of power, and organize free, fair and participatory elections by completing the necessary reforms in the administration, judiciary, election commission and electoral system, law and order sector and information flow to give a successful outcome to the student-people’s uprising, which will aim to usher in an accountable political settlement against corruption, looting and genocide. According to those concerned, he could not keep all his promises without holding a peaceful election. Corruption allegations have been raised against officials employed in various institutions during his tenure. The personal officer of his government advisor has also been suspended on corruption charges. The ACC is investigating the allegations.
According to informed circles, Dr. Yunus, although he publicized how many ordinances he has issued and what steps he has taken in his farewell speech, did not respond to any questions about taking these benefits. Despite being the interim head of government for 18 months, he did not hold any direct press conference with the country’s media.
