Bangladesh is a development surprise for the rest of the world. It proved many myths wrong. Global development thinkers like Professor Amartya Sen lauded overall progress of Bangladesh. Professor Sen underlined that Bangladesh has progressed much more in development sector compared to many developing countries of the world. At an early stage of Millennium Development Goals (MDG) implementation, Bangladesh adjusted its development plans to the MDG framework. Bangladesh wanted the MDG targets to help in realizing the national aspiration. The country has already achieved or is on track to meet almost all the MDGs. Key to success of Bangladesh was political commitment and people's inspiration to make 'Sonar Bangla'. Bangladesh also mobilized its national resources and enhanced capabilities; empowered people; engaged in partnership with wide range of local and international actors.

During this period, Bangladesh reduced extreme poverty by half. Bangladesh improved access to basic education, health services, water and sanitation. During the last six years, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Bangladesh grew at over 6% despite global slowdown. Over the past decade, exports of Bangladesh grew by more than three times; foreign exchange reserve has risen around seven times. This year, Bangladesh graduated to the World Bank's lower-middle income status. Bangladesh is on course to become a Middle Income Country by 2021. Commitment of Bangladesh Government has always been to ensure well-being of people. The government is working to protect vulnerable people, including migrants and persons affected by climate change, autism and other forms of disabilities. These come from the vision of the nation to build an inclusive society.

Bangladesh has decided to take technology to people's doorstep. The vision of 'Digital Bangladesh' is bringing results in lifting people's lives and livelihoods. People in Bangladesh receive over 200 services from 5,275 Digital Centres. Over 16,500 IT-connected Community Health Clinics and Union Parishad Health Complexes extend basic health care services. To realize demographic dividend, Bangladesh invested heavily on skill development of younger population. Present Government emphasizes much on education and health for all, particularly of women and girls.

To ensure food and nutrition security, Bangladesh has scaled up its investment in agriculture. Bangladesh agriculture has fast transformed to be a driver of development. Technology and innovation is hallmark of present-day agriculture in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Government has developed stress-tolerant crop varieties to adapt to the changing climate. She has achieved self sufficiency in food production and now exporting rice abroad. Bangladesh wants to sustain the momentum of the MDGs, build on their successes. Bangladesh has set its 'Vision 2021 -to emerge as a Middle Income, knowledge-driven digital economy. These are to realize the dream of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, to build a 'Sonar Bangla', the land of Golden Bengal.

Directions: The questions numbered 21through 25 consist of a number of sentences, in each of which some part of the whole is underlined. Each sentence is followed by four alternative versions of the underlined portion. Select an alternative you consider both most correct and most effective according to the requirements of standard written English. Answer 'A' is the same as the original version; if you think the original version is the best, select answer 'A'. In considering the answer choices, be attentive to matters of grammar, diction, and syntax, as well as clarity, precision, and fluency. Do not select an answer, which alters the meaning of original sentence.

The pundits' claim Dhaka is amongst the fastest growing city in the world. The population is multiplying in geometric proportions and if the same pundits' are not too smart, which I am afraid most of them are not always, the population and the city will soon collapse under their own weights. Do we see the pundits smirk now?

However, Dhaka is being inundated by a migrant population flocking in their millions to the beleaguered city, in search of jobs, opportunity of which there is not to much, to beg at the city light, steal, collect tolls, smash cars, you name it. Of course, the city fathers in solemn tones inform us that the law and other situation is better now than what it was even a short while ago.

Every once in a while our city fathers and mothers will also took the other way, when it comes to solving the accommodation problems of the teeming millions in the city. There are buildings springing up like mushrooms in this our beloved city, ostensibly to house the multitudes but more often than not to fetch fat rents for the chaps who matter. How it is possible for these building to come up overnight, taxing an already groaning basic facility network like the water, sewerage, and electricity to its breaking point, is a wonder. All these buildings of course cannot be built without permission from the 'relevant authorities' who again cannot give permission without proper assessment.

The grotesque structures rising all over the city, without let or hindrance, is a positive environmental hazard of course, because the facilities to go with all these structures are stretched to meet demands. They are already stretched to their limits and no way can go any further. The only problem here comes to be the city authorities who are so blinded with keeping the beggars away so they do not hinder the "games", that they do not seem to have the time to anything else. And if they cannot those ugly, big structures mushrooming all over the city, they are in big trouble. It is a dispiriting exercise, this entire effort of trying to make "them who matter" see anything they are not interested in seeing. Admittedly, air this seems perhaps funny in print, but in real life, it somehow seems to have lost its humor as the city groans under the continual construction of high rise buildings.