E-COMMERCE AND CYBER VULNERABILITIES IN BANGLADESH: A POLICY PAPER

E-commerce is one way among many that people buy and sell things in retail. Some companies sell products online only, but for many, e-commerce is a distribution channel that’s part of a broader strategy that includes physical stores and other revenue streams. Either way, e-commerce allows startups, small businesses, and large companies to sell their products at scale and reach customers worldwide. The growing scenario of E-commerce shapes a new dynamism in Business and offers no time-bound, cost-efficient, and hassle-free buy and sell. Following changing approach, security management in e-commerce (cyber security) is now the focus. People in Bangladesh are mostly unaware of the risks of using computing and digital devices and online platforms. This article articulated the risk factors associated with the growing reliance on digital technologies and devices. Then, some policy guidelines are prescribed for the national level and individual level, including leading social campaigns, new chapters in the school curriculum, advancing technological aptitudes of law enforcers, strengthening security systems in e-commerce, embanking sites, bringing frauds to justice, initiating law to define cybercrimes, fortifying institutional management of cyber securities

Role of Women Organizations in Development: A Case Study of Akrsp Development Projects in Northern Areas of Pakistan

The historical quarry for a lasting solution to the problem of rural development has led scholars and development planners to the realization that without a participatory approach, especially the participation of women in the developmental process, all the development efforts are inequitable and non-sustainable. Because of this truth, a participatory approach acquires universal importance and like many other less developed countries, a number of participatory initiatives were supported in Pakistan. With respect to participatory initiatives in Pakistan, Aga Khan Rural Supports Program (AKRSP) is one of the main contributors who has made valuable contributions in promoting rural development through community participation. The main focus of AKRSP is on fostering village organizations (VOs) and women organizations (WOs) and linking them with development institutions to accelerate the process of development. The prime rationale of the following study is to visualize the composite role of Women Organizations (WOs) in the socio-economic development both at micro and macro levels in Northern Areas (NAs) of Pakistan because as a part of the world wide range of development activities in NAs, WOs established by AKRSP, were conceived a new approach to development especially for women living in extreme poverty. The present study has drawn on a broad spectrum of case studies and experiences in Northern Areas of Pakistan to evaluate the economic interventions of Aga Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP) which are implemented with the participation of local women A multistage random sampling technique is used to select the districts, number of villages and then interviewees. For this study the data was collected through interviewing xxi the two groups of women i.e., “registered and non-registered”. The data is analyzed using different statistical techniques including multiple regression, paired t-test and poverty gap index. The study concludes that AKRSP plays a major role in the socio-economic development of rural women and hence in rural development through credit and savings schemes, providing training in different fields of agriculture and also by social mobilization.