The pandemic budget: An appraisal

With corona virus casting a long shadow over every nook and cranny of the economy, particularly after the month-long lockdown that impacted adversely on the health sector, every one was looking forward to the budget for the current fiscal. The...

Govt plans to open talks with dozen countries

The government plans to start negotiations with a dozen countries including US and Canada for signing preferential trade agreements to help boost the country's export earnings, officials said.Besides, necessary studies are on with aims to enter into talks for signing...

Railway to procure 125 luggage vans

After almost 30 years, Bangladesh Railway (BR) is going to buy 50 broad-gauge and 75 metre-gauge luggage vans aiming to improve its goods transportation services which helped it minimize the loss during the lockdown period.Officials said BR had long been...

Bangladesh to gain little from PTA with Nepal

Bangladesh is unlikely to gain much by signing a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Nepal, as Kathmandu's trade treaty with Delhi stands as a barrier in this regard, officials have said.According to the treaty of trade between India and Nepal,...

Junk stocks' prices keep soaring sans PSI

The share prices of junk stocks, which came under Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) scanner, have been soaring in the last one month without undisclosed price sensitive information. The companies are Zeal Bangla Sugar Mills, Savar Refactories, Shympur Sugar Mills, Meghna...

Move to build world trade centre in Dhaka

The government has initiated a move to set up a world trade centre (WTC) in Dhaka city with a view to making trade and business easier, officials said.The WTC will be the first of its kind in the country under...

Govt considering extention of Boro paddy, rice procurement deadline

The government is seriously considering to extend the deadline for Boro paddy and rice procurement drive following the requests made by the millers, an official said.Earlier, the government set the deadline for completing the procurement drive on August 31.But sources...

Creating jobs for unemployed youths

With the pandemic now becoming a new normal, the engine of the economy has again begun to hum. And so has started speculations about what lay in store for us in the post-pandemic days and how we are going to...

The startup scene of Bangladesh in the throes of Covid-19

The Novel Coronavirus (Covid19) outbreak has been so pervasive, intense and detrimental to the economic wellbeing of Bangladesh. Though the country had been experiencing significant economic growth in recent years through its vibrant economic activities, the optimism with which a...

Empowering the garment workers: Impact of Alliance in Bangladesh

The giant North American retail companies including JCPenney, Kohl's, Macy's, Nordstrom, Sears, Target, Canadian Tire, The Children's Place, Costco, Fruit of the Loom, Gap, Hudson's Bay, VF Corporation and Wal-Mart formed the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (Alliance) in 2013...

Appeasing the tax evaders

In the national budget for the current financial year, the government has yet again offered the opportunity to legalise 'undisclosed' cash and other liquid assets by paying tax at a nominal rate of 10 per cent.The word ' actual' has...

Fraudster and impostors on the prowl

A foreign bank credited to have been operating in this country for over a hundred years and buying out operation of several other foreign banks here has cautioned its customers to be on the guard against ATM (automated teller machine)...

Closing digital divide in BD's online education

The current pandemic has brought us to a new reality in the culture of education - learning online, which has been a major trend in the past four months. Online classes transcend geographical boundary, and introduce us with a virtual...

BSC to procure six more ships

The state-owned Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) will procure six more ships for bringing dynamism in its services, an official said.The BSC initiated the move to procure two bulk carriers and four crude oil tankers following the directives of the ministry...

Japanese experts of different projects start returning to BD

The Japanese nationals, who left Bangladesh due to the spread of coronavirus, have started returning to their workplaces at different development projects in the country, sources said.They said that few Japanese consultants, contractors or experts have already arrived in Dhaka...

Leadership flourishes in the need of moment

Leadership is never easy, be it in the political arena or in the cricket field. Akbar Ali, the new sensation of Bangladesh cricket seems to enjoy this challenging role absolutely. According to him, 'belief' is the most desirable trait that...

Financial Repression and GDP Calculation

Financial repression is defined as direct government intervention that alters the equilibrium in the financial sector. It is usually aimed at providing cheap loans to business firms and governments by reducing their burden of repayments through lowering returns to savers...

25 LPG operators create uneven competition

The government needs to pursue a stringent policy to contain unauthorised sale and exchange of cylinders along with providing some budgetary incentives to ensure the organic growth of the LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) business.In an interview with the FE, the...

Protecting the remittance lifeline

The Covid-19 pandemic is projected to have wide-ranging impact on economies across the region, as it disrupts supply chains, tourism, and employment. Some emerging markets are especially vulnerable to an important financial inflow as well: remittances. What does the recent...

Loan disbursement time may be extended until December

The period of loan disbursement by the banks concerned under the central bank's 'special incentive re-financing scheme for the agriculture sector' is likely to be extended until December next, sources said.The time might be extended as disbursement of special loan...

Dhaka Elevated Expressway project gains pace

Work of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway (DEE) has got momentum with majority of foreign experts and workers joining the project despite coronavirus pandemic. Officials concerned said the Thai experts and workers, who left the country due to COVID-19 pandemic in...

Risk of memory loss and cognitive decline due to Covid-19

It is now clear that many patients suffering from Covid-19 exhibit neurological symptoms, from loss of smell, to delirium, to an increased risk of stroke. There are also longer-lasting consequences for the brain, including myalgic encephalomyelitis /chronic fatigue syndrome and...

Ensuring good hygiene in post-pandemic schools

With the ubiquitous covid-19 pandemic invading about every conceivable area of human concern, the subject of ensuring an environment of proper health and hygiene for school children while they are in school has now assumed new importance. Though at the...

Proposed amendments to the Bank Company Act

The Bank Company Act 1991 has been a subject of much criticism for long. The recent proposed amendments to the Act are believed to be intended to address some of the much talked about issues, particularly in respect of punitive...

Govt plans to buy vaccine in cash too

Apart from the global vaccine alliance, GAVI, Bangladesh has also planned to collect Covid-19 vaccine through cash payments to other manufacturers, officials have said.The health ministry at a recent meeting has asked the officials concerned to take steps for buying...

Covid scares away critical patients Routine health check-up stalled

Regular health checkup of a vast majority of people has remained pending as both patients and doctors do not want to risk contracting the deadly coronavirus. Except for emergencies, people are not visiting the dentists, eye or ENT specialists, five...

Belgium firm eager to carry out study on diamond business

Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), a Belgium-based public-private entity, has showed interest to conduct a feasibility study in Bangladesh with an aim to reboot its diamond manufacturing and business, officials said.To this end, the AWDC has recently submitted two proposals...

How will the world vaccinate seven billion?

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called it "the most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes".But away from the high-tech science of finding a winning formula, what about the logistics of rolling out a vaccine to seven billion people worldwide?In the...

If weather is hostile or otherwise

On the Bangla calendar, this is early Autumn with the first of the two months -Bhadra and Aswin -heralding the season of clear blue sky dotted with patches of white clouds, dew-awash sheuli and kansh (saccharum spontaneum) flowers. Strangely, right...

Vaccine: Keeping all options open

The government, during the 'surprise' visit of the Indian foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla last week, offered to conduct the phase-three trial of the vaccine being developed by the giant next-door-neighbour. The offer was reportedly voluntary. However, it is not...