Food price, inflation defy reason

Inflation rate in Bangladesh, which was 8.55 per cent in July, marked a 0.07 percentage point increase from that of June. However, the government in its budget for FY2025-26 expressed the hope that the inflation rate could be brought down...

A quick review of FY25 import scenario

After a sharp decline in the two consecutive years, the import of goods in the country registered a modest growth last fiscal year (FY25). Though to all appearances it looks positive, a deeper look into the overall import trend would...

Ukraine urges BD not to receive grains 'stolen' by Russia

The wartorn Ukraine's embroiled authorities have requested Bangladesh to take urgent measures to avert unloading 'looted' grains and importing goods originating from their Russian-occupied territories, sources said. In line with a letter from Kyiv, the Ukrainian embassy in India's New...

Govt launches centralised digital platform for project approvals

The Planning Division under the Ministry of Planning has launched a centralised digital platform to streamline the public investment cycle, from preparing Development Project Proposals (DPPs) to appraisal and final approval.The Project Processing, Appraisal and Management System (PPS) is designed...

Meeting on proposed tariff hike at Ctg port tomorrow

CHATTOGRAM, Aug 23: Shipping ministry has convened a high-level meeting tomorrow to review Chattogram port's proposed new tariff structure with stakeholders, port users and officials amid differences between the port authority and users over the plan to increase charges.Shipping Adviser...

Are we leaving our gig workers behind?

Every day, we see them—the ride-sharing driver, whose friendly greetings begin our journey across town. The young food delivery person in a brightly coloured jacket with a delivery bag weaves through the monsoon-drenched streets to serve our food. The freelancer's...

FCTC Article 5.3: A mandate for transparency or silence?

In the evolving landscape of tobacco control act amendment, Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) has emerged as both a cornerstone and a point of contention. While its intent is clear-to protect public health policies...

Time to reform microcredit

The impact of microcredit on small borrowers can be good, bad or, in some cases ugly with tragic consequences. But one thing is clear that microcredit has not sent poverty to the museum; rather, it has ensnared a majority of...

RMG makers seek increase in incentive rates

Country's apparel makers have sought increase in the rates of incentive to help the largest export-earning sector sustain its growth pace.They have demanded that the government raises the rate of special incentive to 1.0 per cent from the existing level...

Offloading shares of profitable SoEs, 10 MNCs ordered

A latest binding instruction comes for ministries concerned to act promptly for offloading shares of profitable state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and some multinational companies bearing government stakes for breathing life into limping bourses, sources said.For years, there has been no visible...

Development works slow as only 75 projects cleared last fiscal

Development works suffered badly as only 75 new projects involving Tk 984.98 billion were endorsed in the past fiscal year--the lowest in two decades in terms of both their number and expenditure.Official statistics show the Executive Committee of the National...

Ctg port expands container storage capacity by 10pc

CHATTOGRAM, Aug 22: Chittagong port, the prime sea port of the country, expanded its container storage capacity by nearly 10 per cent recently as a measure to address severe congestion.Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Secretary Md Omar Faruk said, "CPA is...

Land scarcity, wetland loss, and pollution in Bangladesh's urban expansion

Bangladesh has witnessed a remarkable transformation over the past seventy years. Once primarily rural, the nation is rapidly urbanising. Bangladesh's urban population has surged from less than 5 million in 1950 to nearly 60 million today, according to the United...

Financial inclusion landscape in Bangladesh

Financial inclusion has emerged as a cornerstone of development policy, not only as a means of economic empowerment but also as a pathway toward social equity and sustainable growth. In developing economies, expanding access to formal financial services is increasingly...

Social protection: not an option but a necessity

Asia and the Pacific is navigating multiple disruptions, both positive and negative. Economic restructuring, green transitions, intensifying climate change, demographic shifts and digital transformations are posing a critical question: how do we ensure that large numbers of people are not...

Consolidated licensing, cap on foreign ownership likely

A new-look telecommunications network and licensing policy is in the making with a sweeping reform package aimed at simplifying regulation, reducing inefficiencies and enabling the sector to adapt to modern technological and market realities.The government on Thursday unveiled the draft...

Mass release of muggers

The release of as many as 1,108 mugging suspects on bail in just past three months is sure to cause many an eyebrow to raise. Some of the gory and gruesome murders of innocent people including members of the business...

Showmanship of Trump and Ukraine

Donald Trump, the president of the United States (US), loves to talk and relishes showing himself talking to electronic media. That is the egotistical baggage he carries from his stint as the host of the television reality show, 'The Apprentice'....

Ctg city to recover 21 canals to address waterlogging

CHATTOGRAM, Aug 20: The Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) will excavate and recover 21 canals to solve the water-logging crisis of the city.Under CCC monitoring, a feasibility study has begun through a Dutch company to restore the canals, which are currently...

Low revenue-GDP ratio stokes worry

Bangladesh's lowly revenue-GDP ratio dipped further in the last financial year due mainly to economic downturn and sluggish business ambiance, coupled with unrest in the revenue-gathering entities.The development has stoked concern among the policymakers as the next IMF review mission...

What is holding back export diversification?

Over the years, much has been said about the necessity of export diversification to ensure sustainable growth in international trade and safeguard the economy against unforeseen global events. Yet, very little progress has been made in this regard. The ready-made...

Partition season & Bengal's tortuous history

In this season of a remembrance of the traumatic partition of India in 1947, it is fitting and indeed necessary in the interest of history that we trek back to the tortuous history of the land Bengalis have inhabited for...

Poor coordination key barrier

The Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) has identified inadequate coordination in land acquisition and utility relocation as a key constraint on the timely implementation of large infrastructure projects. To mitigate such delays, the planning ministry's evaluation division has recommended...

Higher NPLs reduce banks' capital adequacy to lowest in South Asia

Higher classified loans have dragged the capital adequacy of Bangladesh's banking sector to the lowest level among neighbouring South Asian countries, officials said. The capital-to-risk-weighted-asset ratio (CRAR) fell drastically to 3.08 percent in 2024, driven largely by weak capital positions...

A day to raise awareness about the dangers posed by mosquito-borne diseases

Mosquito-borne diseases kill more than one million people and infect up to 700 million each year - almost one in ten people. 128 years ago, mosquito-borne disease was first discovered by a British doctor on August 20, 1897. Sir Ronald...

Three more troubled banks to come under AQR this week

Three more commercial banks, which were plagued by irregularities and scams during the Awami League government's tenure, are set to come under an asset quality review (AQR) by an international audit firm this week.The banks that will face AQR, generally...

High-level brainstorming session today on project execution

Entire pantheon of the interim administration sits for a high-level brainstorming session today to address ongoing challenges in development- project planning, procurement, financing and execution besides foreign-aid disbursement and government debt management.The Cabinet Division has arranged the meeting titled 'Contemporary...

FA leads investment-promotion mission to Japan soon

A high-profile government delegation led by Finance Advisor Dr Saleuddin Ahmed visits Japan from September 1 to explore new Japanese investment in multimodal networks and tourism under a latest development drive.However, official sources say the trip has been organised to...

A separate higher education commission

In higher education, quality is not an ornamentation dream-rather, it is the building block on which nations build their intellectual capital, economic competitiveness, and cultural dynamism. In Bangladesh, the current regulatory framework, however, treats public and private universities in a...

Looking into poverty-linked suicides

The self-inflicted tragedy that befell a family of four at the Bamunshikhar village in Paba Upazila of Rajshahi tells us about another level of poverty that is hardly discussed in the circles concerned. As reports go, the breadwinner of the...