RNPP project revision faces delays amid financial scrutiny

The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) project, originally planned for 9.5 years with a budget of Tk 1.13 trillion, is set to reach the end of its tenure next Tuesday. So far, around 72.5 per cent of the works has...

The political economy of nation-building

A textbook definition of the well-worn word ‘nation’ may denote ‘a group of people who share a common identity based on shared history, culture, tradition, custom, religion, language and a sense of unity or belonging together. Here, ‘nation’ is mostly...

Alarming rise in suicides

The revelation that an average of around 40 people die by suicide every day in Bangladesh is a chilling indicator of a profound and largely unaddressed social crisis. Police records on unnatural deaths show that between 2020 and 2024, a...

BD-India trade in travel services

December is usually a month of holiday-making for most people in Bangladesh. A large number of people wait throughout the year for the month when they can travel home and abroad with their families and friends. For most outbound tourists...

Mogolhat: A cross-border rail connection erased by the Dharla

Flanked by a blend of dense greenery and rustic beauty, our autorickshaw speeds towards Mogolhat from the Mission intersection, the heart of the Lalmonirhat district. Cows and goats graze in fields despite an intermittent drizzle on a September morning. Bamboo,...

Reaching out to those in need

Bangladesh Armed Forces contribute significantly to relief operations in disaster management, in both national and international environment. The major mission of the Bangladesh Armed Forces is to preserve the operational continuity of the Bangladesh Army in both domestic and foreign...

Winter is not an unmixed blessing but its gifts are precious too

At a time when wintry chill was making news from the country's north, the middle and southern regions gave the impression that the season was hesitant to make its appearance there. Even the gentle breeze that blew at times from...

Metro rail strike averted, still uncertainty persists

The metro-rail operator has narrowly averted a fresh strike after its board approved long-pending service rules last week, easing immediate tensions with agitating staff. However, officials and employees alike fear that delays in making the rules effective could once again...

AIIB to lend $881m for modernising BREB's power supply networks

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is set to provide US$881 million to help modernise electricity distribution networks in four divisions, aiming to enhance the reliability and efficiency of power supply for nearly 18 million consumers under the Bangladesh Rural...

Commercial disputes to see speedy resolution

The proposed Commercial Courts Ordinance 2025 is expected to offer a new ray of hope for the speedy resolution of commercial disputes pending in different courts across the country. Under the ordinance, the required number of commercial courts will be...

Bureaucratic inertia, inefficiency foil good initiatives

Many complain that there were so many reform commissions but no commission on education. It now seems it was better that the sector was left alone. Nowadays, the focus is on the scheduled election and reform agendas hardly figure in...

Between giants: Bangladesh's strategy in the Indo-Pacific

Bangladesh is presently at a crucial juncture-it is in a transition period and undergoing a visionary shift in its foreign policy. It is a fact that the pragmatic doctrine of "friendship to all, and malice towards none" has enabled Bangladesh...

35pc drivers have high blood pressure, diabetes

Road safety continues to be a pressing issue in the country due to the poor state of drivers' health, with recent health camp data revealing that the majority of them have visual impairment, diabetes, and hypertension.Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA)...

AFC forecasts turnaround for Bangladesh capital market next year

Global fund manager Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) anticipates that Bangladesh's capital market will turn around in 2026 after another gloomy year, aided by political stability and macroeconomic recovery.Although Asian frontier markets have significantly outperformed the region for a third consecutive...

Vietnam's apparel export strategy lesson for BD

Bangladesh and Vietnam are often presented as close rivals in the global apparel industry, with export figures suggesting a neck-and-neck race for a larger share of global apparel market. In 2024, Bangladesh exported garments worth USD 38.48 billion, accounting for...

Higher taxing of billionaires likely to narrow inequality

Ramping up the tax incidence on high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) is under government strategy to narrow widening income inequality in Bangladesh as the Gini index is getting imbalanced.Medium and Long-term Revenue Strategy (MLTRS) for the financial year 2025-26 to FY2034-35, published...

Hidden liabilities threaten to cripple Power Grid, outweigh assets

State-run Power Grid has undisclosed liabilities which, if taken into account, would exceed the value of its assets and impair its ability to repay.The company's auditors flagged the liabilities in qualified opinions attached to the FY25 financial statements. To get...

Morning tradition that refuses to fade Dhaka's enduring newspaper culture

"People don't actually read newspapers. They step into them every morning like a hot bath." Marshall McLuhan's words drift easily into the first light over Dhaka. They capture a feeling many once knew well, when the newspaper was not just...

When politics & journalism become dangerous

The country has plunged into another upheaval again– suspected by many as an ominous sign of conspiratorial machinations. The countrywide unified protests did not begin with attacks on newspaper offices or assaults on journalists. It began with the shooting and...

What powered Hadi, his July comrades?

Sharif Osman Hadi's martyrdom and the outpouring of grief and sympathy that his assassination aroused among the public has been, in a word, historic. The masterminds behind his killing might have thought that they had succeeded in removing him from...

BR still lacks fit execution plan for decade-old policy

Bangladesh Railway (BR) has yet to formulate a comprehensive plan to incorporate electric traction in its upcoming development projects, despite a policy-level decision made a decade ago.While over 70 countries have shifted to electric train services, BR remains limited to...

Fresh Tk 4.63b project to boost Karnaphuli Tunnel traffic

A fresh Tk 4.63-billion project is conceived to construct 21.1 kilometres of connecting roads to ramp up traffic flow through the Karnaphuli Tunnel that operates below its expected capacity for lower-than-anticipated vehicle movement.Officials say Road Transport and Highways Division (RTHD)...

Revised budget, new one's outline going for CA's perusal today

A pared-down draft revised budget for the current fiscal year and an outline of the next one are being placed before Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus today to seek his advice and directions, officials say.An upscale Tk 8.5-trillion budget for next...

Attacks on media and cultural institute

The ransacking and torching of the Prothom Alo and The Daily Star office buildings in Dhaka add a new dimension to the mobocracy. Similar acts of vandalism and arson in the Chhayanaut building exposes a gross volte-face of the movement....

Lowering data price to widen internet use

The latest survey by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) shows an impressive rate (98.9 per cent) of penetration of mobile phones at the household level in Bangladesh in the first quarter of the current fiscal year (2025-26). In comparison,...

Expansion of technical school, colleges stalls as costs soar

A flagship government initiative to expand technical and vocational education across Bangladesh has stalled badly, with construction of Technical School and Colleges (TSCs) yet to begin in hundreds of upazilas despite repeated deadline extensions and sharp cost escalations.Officials say the...

'Plastic monster' appears on Cox's Bazar beach !

COX'S BAZAR, Dec 20: A giant 'plastic monster' has emerged from the sand at Sugandha Point on Cox's Bazar beach. It looks like a prehistoric trilobite or some terrifying unknown creature-which will surprise children and adults alike when they will...

Lack of tax incentives deters RMG firms from going public

Readymade garment (RMG) companies are among the major targets for new listings to help the secondary market grow, but they have not been offered any incentives to go public.A major purpose of listing is to get tax benefits but RMG...

Making of a new combat-sport economy

For decades, Bangladesh's sporting identity has revolved around cricket stadiums, football grounds and other sports. That landscape has expanded decisively with DHK001 or Double Horse Knockouts 001 having introduced professional Muay Thai to the national spotlight at an event. What...

A dark day for our media

In the midst of the political and extra-political turbulence of the last few days, the attack on the head offices of two national dailies, Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, in Dhaka will go down as one of the most...