Most of PCBs see uptick

Most of the private commercial banks (PCBs) showed an increased operating profit in the first six months (H1) of this calendar year (2021) despite the extent of overall classified loans in the banking system was on the rising trend, bankers...

The remodelled money whitening opportunity

The opportunity given to the holders of dirty money in the budget for the immediate past financial year had raised lots of hullabaloos. The honest taxpayers---their number is unlikely to be very large, in particular, were annoyed.Economists and some business...

Making most of demographic data

A survey report titled, "Bangladesh Sample Vital Statistics (BSVS) 2020" unveiled on Monday last has come up with many a positive for the nation even in this most critical time. However, the title should have been Sample Bangladesh Vital Statistics...

Corporate tax receipts exceed target

The tax authority has surpassed its target for tax collection from large taxpayers in the just concluded fiscal year (FY), thanks to money whitening scheme and withholding tax collection.According to a provisional data of Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) under the...

Workshops: Learning or waste of time?

If Neville Longbottom (a fictional character in Harry Potter) was asked whether he prefers a one-hour session with Professor Lupin or a course with Professor Snape, he probably would've chosen the former one in a heartbeat. Workshops are similar to...

Reframing polygamy law

As is well-known, a Muslim man can have as many as four wives based on the Islamic Sharia law, but not more simultaneously. In the backdrop of this general perception of Islam condoning polygamy, the Grand Imam of Egypt's topmost...

Centenary and the founding of Dhaka University

Today, July 1, 2021 is the birth centenary of Dhaka University - once known as 'Oxford of the East'. But its birth did not happen all of a sudden. It is quite apparent from its founding and evolution that it...

Banks, FIs sandwiched between conflicting regulatory issues

The central bank has requested the securities regulator to amend or fine-tune its directives issued under the corporate governance code (CGC) for the listed banks and financial institutions (FIs).Formed and operated under different laws, the banks and FIs have no...

Govt set for higher bank borrowing in July

The government is set to start fiscal year (FY) 2021-22 with a higher bank borrowing target for July to adjust expenditure in June and partly finance budget deficit.It may take up to Tk 206.50 billion in gross borrowing from the...

Scope stays, but on harder terms

Parliament on Tuesday passed the Finance Bill-2021, amending a few of its original provisions.The lawmakers vetted continuation of the controversial opportunity to legalise undeclared income during the next fiscal year (FY 2021-22), however, on terms harder than that of the...

Backlog in budgetary need for road maintenance rises to 315pc

The backlog in funding need for maintenance work on the country's road network has increased to 315 per cent this fiscal year in the absence of required budgetary allocation in the last fiscal year, according to a report of the...

Prioritising social protection for SDG implementation

After coming out of the shadow of famine, Bangladesh took moral responsibility to provide people with social safety net coverage. Protecting citizens from economic vulnerabilities has become even more important task during the ongoing pandemic that has shattered most people.Not...

Merger of BASIC Bank, BDBL unlikely to deliver results

An 'imposed' merger of the scam-hit BASIC Bank with the Bangladesh Development Bank Limited (BDBL) is unlikely to yield any tangible result, experts have said.They expressed scepticism about fruitful outcome of such a move and demanded stern actions against the...

EPB suggests raising cash incentive on shrimp export

A government agency has suggested increasing the cash incentives on exports of frozen shrimps and other fish to help boost fish production and export earnings.The Export Promotion bureau (EPB) sent the recommendation to the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) last week...

The Covid-19 pandemic: A 'Destructive Creation'?

The Covid-19 pandemic has hard hit the global economy, and Bangladesh is not an exception to that. Many businesses across the country are struggling to cope with the new normal situation with financial strain and trying to revamp their businesses...

Ensuring public support for lockdown

The alarming rise in the infection rate of Corona virus across the country has forced the government to go for countrywide lockdown. However, the lockdowns on a limited scale have already been in force first in the districts bordering India...

Matt Hancock and the beauty of democracy

Matt Hancock's resignation from the office of Britain's Health Secretary is once again a sign of the vitality of democracy. He was caught violating the very social distancing rules in a coronavirus situation he had been urging people to follow....

Yet another chance in the offing

The government would offer the undisclosed money holders yet another opportunity to legalise their income in the next fiscal year (FY2021-22), but with harder terms than that of the existing ones. The holders of such money may have to pay...

Allocation for social safety net may go up

Responding to calls from economists and experts, the government may increase further the allocation for the social safety net programme (SSNP) in the budget for the fiscal year 2021-22 which is slated for adoption by parliament on Wednesday, officials said.While...

Homework before lockdown is missing

Lockdown or shutdown has come in various shapes and sizes. The earliest form was not even called lockdown. Euphemistically it was named general holiday but to what purpose remains a mystery. Yet for the longest stretch of time, people's movement...

Police report on rice market!

What is the basic responsibility of the Bangladesh Police? The answer is simple. The agency with its network reaching up to the grassroots level ensures the safety and security of the citizens.Criticisms notwithstanding, its major focus has been on law...

Bangladeshi float glass may face ADD in Indian market

India may soon add yet another item--- clear float glass (CFG) --- to the list of Bangladeshi exports facing anti-dumping duty (ADD). CFG, exported by Bangladesh, may face ADD for five years, officials said.Indian local producers have requested the director...

A call for data-driven action to support working women

The last time governments around the world gathered to put women's rights front and centre was in 1995, during the Fourth World Conference on Women, convened by the United Nations in Beijing, China. On this occasion, governments from 189 countries...

Getting products GI-tagged

Two weeks back, the government formally handed over Geographical Indication (GI) certificates to six offices for six Bangladeshi products. Thus the total number of GI-tagged products increased to nine in the country. The six new GI-tagged products are: Maslin of...

New rule makes mandatory environ, fire safety clearance

The government has issued a new rule for investors of the clothing and textile industries, keeping a provision of getting environment and fire safety clearance first prior to obtaining factory registration.However, textile mill owners opposed the move earlier citing the...

Import food grains, take actions against hoarders

Bangladesh Police, responsible for ensuring safety and security of the citizens, have moved into food security issues and recommended a number of measures, including taking stern actions against unscrupulous traders and hoarders. The agency sent copies of a report recently...

Horror lurks in Ctg hill slopes

CHATTOGRAM, June 25: Hill cutting as well as unauthorised use of public land exacerbate the possibility of landslide which has ever been a looming danger on the hill slopes in Chattogram during monsoon.A section of people cut hills and trees...

Stocks led by banks, textiles rebound

Stocks bounced back in the outgoing week, after a single-week break, as bargain hunters showed their appetite on major sector issues despite virus worries.Week-on-week, DSEX, the core index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 40.08 points or...

Covid-19 tiggers impact on poverty

The poverty impact of Covid-19 brought unprecedented demand and supply-side shocks on the socio-economic lives of Bangladesh's people. The Covid pandemic has significantly eroded the country's past rapid success, and it is happening worldwide, regardless of developed or developing countries...

Bangladesh and the issue of QUAD

Advising Bangladesh not to join the QUAD, Chinese Ambassador to Dhaka Li Ji-ming said in a virtual discussion with DCAB on May 10, 2021, "Bangladesh's decision to join the anti-China alliance will harm bilateral relations." The United States-led alliance Quadrilateral...