Development damaging Nature, defying law

Already ranked ninth globally for climate disaster risk, according to the World Risk Index 2023, Bangladesh, so far, seems to have resigned itself to its fate. Worse, it has been doing everything to make matters worse often in the name...

A generation sees future murky

Can you imagine a home that feels like a jail? For more than a million Rohingya in the camps of Cox’s Bazar, barbed wire isn’t just a boundary — it’s a barrier to the future. For children here, eight years...

Debt sustainability: risks from climate-financing exigencies 

Bangladesh has long maintained an impressive record of external debt servicing, standing out among least-developed countries for its fiscal discipline and strong export performance. For decades, the country has met its repayment obligations with relative ease, reflecting prudent financial management...

From democracy to mafioso reign in Bangladesh: a chronological review

Following the exit of the caretaker regime after the holding of the 9th parliamentary election in December 2008, expectations ran high among the people in Bangladesh that the grand-alliance government led by Awami League (AL) would keep its pledge of ushering...

Populism and policymaking

In recent years populism has emerged as a powerful social and economic factor influencing politics, governance and policymaking across a broad swath of the world. Its appeal lies in a rhetorical division of society into ‘the people’ versus the ‘elite’...

Trust deficit, corruption, bureaucratic inefficiency and growth erosion in Bangladesh

It is a sticky morning in Dhaka when a young entrepreneur goes to a government office, hoping to extend her trade licence. She employs twenty people, making local garments for export, and can double production effortlessly if it were easier....

Does globalisation have a future?

President Trump's trade war has upended the process of globalisation in a manner that has raised the question of whether it has any future. The backdrop to this is widespread discontent about its outcome that has spread from the developing...

Shaping Bangladesh's technology policy

Standard economic theory suggests that for developing countries far away from the fast-expanding technological frontiers, "catch-up growth" is the only viable option to secure long-run growth. According to this view, no matter how poor a country is, if it adopts...

Beyond political democracy

The notion of democracy is traditionally interpreted and analysed in the political domain, in terms of democratic spaces, voice and autonomy of the people, political parties, people's participation, free and fair elections, existence of civil society, etc. Thus, the idea...

IMF loan conditionalities and unmet objectives

Bangladesh signed an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for loans valued at US$4.7 billion under different programmes on January 30, 2023. These loans were to be given out in several tranches over 42 months. The total loan amount...

ADB urges completion of stalled BRT project

Development partners of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project have urged the government to complete the long-delayed 20.5-kilometre dedicated bus corridor, highlighting its wider benefits for urban mobility and its strong economic potential. They argue that with over US$250 million...

UN chief urges faster shift to renewables to avoid climate disaster

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that the global energy landscape is changing at lightning speed, with renewable energy leading the way. Speaking at the Energy Transition Roundtable during the Belém Climate Summit on November 7, he said last...

New ICT projects look foredoomed like forerunners

Three new ICT-sector development projects involving Tk 46.33 billion have been proposed all of which are lookalikes of previous ones allegedly doomed to failure in set goals for corruption, misuse of public funds.Officials at the Planning Commission hold such view...

Experts push for discounted shares for general investors

As the central bank moves forward with the merger of five troubled Islamic banks, general shareholders of these listed banks should either be offered shares of the merged entity or allowed to subscribe to its shares at a discounted price.This...

India's CVD probe into BD jute product imports faces setback

India's investigation into imposing a countervailing duty (CVD) on Bangladeshi jute product imports has hit a procedural snag, with Bangladesh seeking an extra 30 days to submit its questionnaire responses, sources said.The commerce ministry has requested the Bangladesh High Commission...

The rise of micro-influencers in a post-TV world

The days of catchy television jingles and glossy newspaper advertisements pulling in crowds are long gone. Today's consumers scroll endlessly, swipe constantly, and ignore traditional ads faster than ever, creating a massive shift in how marketing works. With digital platforms...

Overstress on classroom study makes learning dull

The global educational landscape has undergone a profound transformation, moving decisively away from rote-learning systems to a creative, student-centric pedagogical methods that promote holistic child development. This global shift prioritises teaching methodologies that nurture essential 21st-century skills such as critical...

Global FDI and Bangladesh

The decline in global foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first half of the current year is not unexpected, even if it is undesirable. A tariff war initiated by US President Donald Trump has intensified global trade tensions in the...

Digital push aims to revolutionise land management

The government has taken initiatives to make Bangladesh's digital land management system more transparent, accountable, and accessible to citizens. As part of that, the land ministry has undertaken a project titled "Establishment of Digital Land Management System (EDLMS)" to digitise...

More than $5.5 billion announced for TFFF

During a lunch at the Belém Climate Summit, President Lula received leaders from over 30 countries, the UN Secretary-General, and a representative from the World Bank on Friday at the COP30 Leader's Summit, in Belém.The Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF)...

Major solar power plant to replace coal-based one at Matarbari

A major 430-megawatt grid-tied solar-power plant is being established at Matarbari in Cox's Bazar instead of planned coal-fired facilities at the seaside transport-economic hub.Officials say Coal Power Generation Company Bangladesh Limited (CPGCBL) has decided to conduct detailed feasibility study, including...

BD pursues two-dozen plans to secure duty-free mkt access

Bangladesh pursues over two-dozen plans to secure duty-free market access to major trade-partner countries for effective graduation from least-developed country (LDC) status, sources say.The ministry of commerce (MoC) has sketched out the sweeping, time-bound action plan under Monitoring and Evaluation...

Proparco deepens private sector engagement in Bangladesh

Proparco, the private sector arm of the French government's development agency AFD Group, is stepping up its engagement in Bangladesh, with investments and technical assistance worth over US$162 million channelled into private enterprises over the past 12 years. "We want...

Govt's push for e-GP faces setback as TCB seeks to use manual system

The government's decade-long efforts to bring transparency to public spending is facing a setback, as the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) has requested an exemption from the newly introduced mandatory electronic government procurement (e-GP) system.Instead, the state-owned agency has sought...

Re-engineering in internal audit operations

Bangladesh has come a long way in economic growth since 1972. In 1972, the gross domestic product (GDP) was US$ 5.70 billion where as in 2025 it stands at US$ 475.00 billion. Contribution to GDP from the services sector is...

Three-dimensional connectedness is the clinching factor

That a nation's close relationship or the lack of it with Nature can be a subject of study is somewhat surprising, especially when Western researchers embark on exploring nations' comparative connectedness to natural environment. To the oriental civilisations, particularly that...

Weather (2025-11-07)

Rain/ thunder showers is likely to occur at one or two places over Chattogram and Sylhet divisions in the next 24 hours from 06:00 am today (Friday), according to the Met Office. The highest temperature in the country on Thursday...

Ancillaries receive most allocation

Most money for a World Bank-funded development project for Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has been allocated for operational expenses on ancillaries that range from toiletries to foreign trainings, raising questions about justification. On the wish-list are toilet tissues, toilet...

BB's NAV disclosure contradicts Islamic banks' claims

There is a huge gap in the net asset value (NAV) between what the troubled Islamic banks reported in their latest financial statements and what the Bangladesh Bank announced when it dissolved their boards on Wednesday.BB Governor Ahsan H. Mansur,...

Return back to Nature ensures survival of human race

Nepal has emerged as the most Nature-connected nation in the world, according to a research, first of its kind, conducted by academics from Britain and Austria. Involved with the ground-breaking research was Miles Richardson, a famed professor of Nature connectedness...