Leadership in the age of Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic introduced an extraordinary challenge for the leaders. It has compelled organisations to look into employee productivity and motivation from a very different perspective. Previously what was more dependent on the materialistic factors, during this age of Covid-19,...

What young entrepreneurs can learn from big brands

Life during the global pandemic is something people have been used to by now. Society has learnt to take care of themselves and their families by adapting their lifestyles. Social distancing, wearing gloves and masks while going outside, carrying hand...

Russia approves coronavirus vaccine before finishing tests

NEW YORK, July 12 (New York Times): A Russian health care regulator has become the first in the world to approve a vaccine for the coronavirus, President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday, though the vaccine has yet to complete clinical trials.The...

Two ways to help revive tourism in Asia and the Pacific

Tourism in Asia and the Pacific has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. International tourist arrivals fell by over 90.0 per cent in many countries, compared to last year-and the situation is likely to persist, with the United Nations'...

Deferring the LDC graduation of Bangladesh

Bangladesh's stride towards graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) list is a great pride for the nation. Bangladesh was the first country which meets all the three criteria i.e., national income per capita, human asset index (HAI), economic vulnerability index...

Expanding technical education infrastructure

Technical and vocational education and training or TVET is considered a critical tool for promoting socioeconomic equity-cum-inclusion as well as sustainable development. The education minister has recently announced lifting of age restrictions on admission to TVET courses at polytechnic institutes....

So far 3.0m pieces of rawhide stored in warehouses

More than 3.0 million pieces of salted rawhide of both cattle and goats have been stored in different warehouses across the country, official figures show.Of them, over 2.4 million pieces are from cattle and 0.62 million pieces from goats. Only...

Foreign experts start arriving

Work on the Dhaka metro rail is expected to get back its momentum with the arrival of foreign consultants and experts, officials said.All the Thai experts and workers engaged in the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-06 construction have already arrived...

Govt fortifying BIDA to be investment-friendly

The government is strengthening the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) to make it is more sophisticated and investment-friendly.As part of reinforcing the investment promotion agency, the government is amending the BIDA Act which was passed sometime in 2016.The amendment is...

Banks seek Tk 18 million as interest subsidy

The banks which have disbursed working capital to industrial and service sector units under the government's Covid-19 recovery package have sought over Tk 18 million as interest subsidy in the April-June quarter.They have provided the loans under the Tk 300...

Lukewarm investment response from banks

The country's capital market has so far received poor response in terms of investment from the banks under a special initiative of the central bank to help stimulate the ailing stock market, officials said. It has so far witnessed only...

Boring for one tube of Karnaphuli tunnel completed

Boring of one part of Karnaphuli tunnel has been completed establishing underwater tube from Chattogram city's Patenga to Anwara upazila, officials said.They said with the installation of ring of the left side tube, boring of one side of the multilane...

Shoddy lab tests put people's lives on line

Unholy practices by ill-equipped private laboratories escalate the cost of pathological tests in Bangladesh, forcing people to conduct multiple tests only to get reports of dubious quality. Such diagnostic outlets allegedly collect pathological samples and throw those into bucket, which...

Boosting leather and leather goods production and exports

Leather, now-a-days, is the second largest export sector of Bangladesh. Since pre-liberation period to the early 90s, leather sector had been successfully occupying the third position in the list of the exporting sectors. In those days export was limited to...

Hope for a new 'UN moment'

On September 21, 2020, the United Nations will mark its 75th anniversary with a negotiated declaration to be endorsed at a high-level meeting the same month. The UN's member countries should turn the event into a rechristening.The UN was founded...

Online VAT system hits rough patch

The takeover of the VAT online system from the Vietnamese company FPT may create complexities after the expiry of the project by December this year, officials fear.The officials said unless the process of control over the highly-technical system gets started...

BSEC hell-bent on holding minimum 2.0pc shares by directors of listed cos

Directors of listed companies having not minimum 2.0 per cent shares must lose their directorship if they fail to hold the said amount of shares as per the latest directive.The chairman of the securities regulator Prof. Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam...

Interest rate spread drops slightly to 2.89pc in June

Interest rate spread in the country's banking system fell slightly in June, as banks slashed interest rates on lending more than on deposit. The weighted average spread between lending and deposit rates, offered by the banks, came down to 2.89...

Covid-19 boosts digitisation of higher education in Bangladesh

At the start of this year, most universities in Bangladesh lacked basic learning management systems and digital infrastructure. So, when institutions were required to close because of Covid-19, educators could no longer teach.The country's University Grants Commission (UGC) rose to...

ASEAN: The journey of 53 years of development

Founded in 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) turned 53 years old on Saturday (August 08, 2020), proving its pivotal role as a regional organisation to promote peace and security, accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development...

Govt set to approve new entry-exit point today

The government is set to approve today (Monday) a new entry and exit point for Bangladesh and Nepal's goods transit through railways, officials have said.Under the new arrangement, Rohanpur railway station in Chapainawabganj district will be added as another entry...

BB relaxes loan restructuring policy for NBFIs

The central bank has relaxed its loan restructuring policy for non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) to help the businesses overcome the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.Under the relaxations, the NBFIs are allowed to extend the tenure of term loans and...

Culinary art learnt during corona lockdown

So far as materialistic considerations are concerned, the lockdown or self-quarantine period accounts for unlimited losses. But before many the prolonged stay-home period has unfolded a world hitherto unexplored. Many have been under compulsion to change their professions or vocations...

When changes mean nothing

Mismanagement and irregularities are common in most government health facilities. The private ones are also not immune to such vices. Some of the latter categories have been operating without valid licences while a few others overcharging their patients at will.All...

Banks fully capable of executing stimulus packages

The banking sector is fully capable of implementing the government-declared financial stimulus packages despite its own pre-Covid-19 challenges, a top leader of the banking community has said."Banking sector is aligned and involved from the beginning of the government's effort to...

BSEC cracks down on faking financials

The securities regulator has stepped up its effort to combat the practice of submitting IPO (initial public offering) proposals with doctored financial statements.As part of the campaign, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has rejected the IPOs of eight...

BKB, RAKUB to disburse Tk 18b

Two top specialised banks, which mainly deal with the agricultural sector, will distribute over Tk 18 billion under the government announced Covid-19 aid packages, sources said.According to officials, the Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB) has set a target to disburse Tk...

New ferry terminal at Shimulia soon

The government has taken a move to build a new ferry ghat at Shimulia in Munshiganj to facilitate hassle-free movement of passengers and vehicles, an official said.As part of the move, the shipping ministry has directed the Bangladesh Inland Water...

Ctg roads in bad state in monsoon

CHATTOGRAM, AUG 07: Vehicles cannot ply most of the roads in the port city for their worst condition due to heavy rainfall in the current rainy season.Major roads and alleys here have become unfit for traffic due to cracks and...

Stocks continue gaining amid growing optimism

Stocks extended the winning streak for the seventh consecutive week that ended on Thursday as enthusiastic investors showed their buying spree on sector-wise issues throughout the week riding on new hopes.Week-on-week, DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange,...