With funds unspent, deadline ends soon

Despite a five-year implementation window, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has made limited progress in terms of infrastructure development under the Covid-19 Emergency Response and Pandemic Preparedness project.Of the planned 500 intensive care unit (ICU) beds to be...

Are nighttime lights a good proxy for economic activity?

Recently in a discussion with some fellow researchers about the notion of nighttime lights as a proxy for economic activity, I was reminded that many Bangladeshi scholars remain sceptical of this approach. They argue that, apart from big cities like...

Eid holiday causes container congestion at Ctg Port

CHITTAGONG, June 12: The Chittagong port is currently experiencing severe container congestion due to delays in the delivery and handling of containers caused by the long Eid-ul-Azha holiday. Despite the port's operational activities continuing during the holidays, a shortage of...

Potential of climate-smart agriculture in southern Bangladesh

Increasingly frequent cyclones, saline water intrusion, prolonged waterlogging, erratic rainfall, and rising sea levels are drastically altering the agricultural landscape in southern Bangladesh. Smarting under the adverse impact of climate change, the vulnerable coastal regions of southern Bangladesh comprising Khulna,...

Education budget in South Asia: where Bangladesh stands?

It is an age of innovation, global interconnectedness, and accelerating advances in technology. It is an age when education can no longer be an indulgence but a necessity on which nations build their futures. Nowhere is this truer than in...

Fiscal perks to spur domestic e-bike production

The fiscal incentives on electric bikes (e-bikes) in the new budget have appeared as an opportunity for local manufacturers to make hefty investments to promote environment-friendly vehicles in Bangladesh. The proposed budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 has offered tax...

Poverty spending shrinks in new budget

Despite mounting economic pressures on low-income households, the government has slashed the allocation for poverty reduction in the proposed national budget for FY2025-26, raising concerns among economists and development experts about the direction of fiscal priorities.The proposed budget earmarks Tk...

UK government takes over former minister Saifuzzaman's property

United Kingdom's government takes over control of property worth 800 million pounds owned by former land minister of Bangladesh Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, amid allegations of amassing shadowy global empire over there, documents show. Company House, the company-registration authority of the UK...

Only 95 routes active among 386 approved

The well-known widespread disorder in the capital's public transportation system has reduced the number of operational bus routes to 95 from the 386 officially approved in 2020.Additionally, bus operators have arbitrarily introduced 12 new routes and exceeded the approved number...

Trump, Musk & the powerful parting company

Donald Trump and Elon Musk have spectacularly had a falling out in their relationship. Two of the world's arrogant men are now after each other, and that too only months into their unusual friendship. In these few months since Trump...

Is Bangladesh prepared for another COVID wave?

After three gruelling years of the COVID-19 pandemic, which claimed over seven million lives globally and caused unprecedented disruption to international trade, it was widely believed that the pandemic had gone, thanks to mass vaccination campaigns and growing natural immunity....

Govt moves to delist Khanpur ICD project from Indian LoC

The interim government has now started procedure to delist the Khanpur Inland Container Depot (ICD) project from the Indian line of credit (LoC) after rejecting a proposal for cost-and tenure extension in January, said officials.The Ministry of Shipping (MoS) recently...

Bangladesh's blueprint for a plastic-free nation

On this World Environment Day, June 05, the global spotlight shines on the critical theme of "Ending Plastic Pollution," a challenge that resonates deeply within Bangladesh. As the relevant international community joins in the Republic of Korea, Bangladesh stands poised...

Call money rate holds steady before Eid as banks tap BB support

On the eve of the long Eid-ul-Azha holiday, Bangladesh's inter-bank call-money market showed signs of stability, with banks successfully managing their liquidity needs, thanks in part to timely support from the central bank.The weighted average rate (WAR) of call money...

Unblocking payments, shareholder dividends ignites investment zeal

A faster coordinated action by the interim government resolving several longstanding issues of payment obligations and shareholder dividends with three prominent multinational corporations in order to ease foreign-investment facilities in Bangladesh regenerates investment vibes. Industry stakeholders assert that such decisive...

Achieving the ambitious revenue target

The proposed budget for the fiscal year 2025-26, amounting to Tk 7.9 trillion, marks a significant shift in Bangladesh's fiscal objectives: moving away from grand development narratives towards pragmatic restraint and people-centric welfare. While rolling out the budget on Monday,...

Choking on plastic: the planet's invisible epidemic

As we welcome another World Environment Day, we are once again reminded of our fragile connection to the planet we call home. It’s a moment to take stock – not just of vanishing forests or warming seas – but of...

The bizarre charm of conspiracy theories

There is a certain pleasure in studying conspiracy theories. Much of the pleasure stems from the thought that in some people it is the imagination which works overtime, allowing them to indulge in fantasies we can only marvel at. Verily...

Why SMEs need urgent policy reform

Across South Asia and beyond, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are often celebrated as the engines of economic growth. In neighbouring countries, this recognition has translated into real policy action, institutional support, and financial commitment. Unfortunately, in Bangladesh, the story...

Data, research dearth big barrier to SME sector development

Saidur Rahman is a commerce graduate who plans to begin a small business to make a living and also contribute to the country's economy through employment generation.Before starting the venture, he wanted to conduct a study to select a suitable...

The call of home echoes louder than Eid bells

From advertisements to television programs, the muddy roads and the smells of cows leave no doubt that Eid has arrived. The dream that pulled us away from home to unknown paths now calls us back to the house of dreams....

Easily attainable target to lure cos into listing

Listed companies may get a tax rebate by 2.5 percentage points to 20 per cent for FY26 and FY27 if income from all sources is transacted through banks, according to the budget laid out on Monday. The conditions for the...

‘We focus on improving service quality with tech-driven products’

Jamuna Bank is committed to enhancing service quality by introducing innovative, technology-driven products to earn and maintain the trust of its customers, according to the bank's top executive."We have consistently focused on enhancing the quality of our services while introducing...

Targets realistic, say economists

Eminent economists hail the proposed budgetary measures as realistic in the current economic context at home and abroad, save some reservations. They are critical of an "ambitious" revenue target and retaining the scope for legalising undisclosed incomes as weak points...

What's happening at nat’l eye hospital

Treatment at a major government-owned eye hospital, the National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital (NIOH), has been suspended since last Wednesday (May 28).The reports are rather sketchy about what exactly happened that led to total work stoppage by doctors, nurses...

Revisiting the UN Report on 2024 July Upsurge

The United Nations Human Rights Office or the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a fact-finding report in February this year, which found the intelligence agencies and security forces of the deposed Hasina regime in Bangladesh...

TCB gets Tk150b from govt to offset its trade gap

The government has provided Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) with Tk 150 billion as subsidy to help offset its trade gap for current fiscal 2024-'25 on account of selling key essentials at subsidised rates.The Ministry of Finance has already issued...

Several future tax rates to be outlined

Several tax rates, both for individual and corporate taxpayers, would come in a prospective manner in the FY26 budget, with effect from July 2026 in a bid to help taxpayers properly plan their taxes.Individual taxpayers will enjoy an upward revision...

The looming threat of floods

That floods in this deltaic plain are recurrent is no news. The news is that the timing of this type of natural calamity has changed remarkably. Floods and the monsoon are interlinked. Before the month of Ashar on the Bangla...

Job prospects, well-being of migrant workers

The International Labour Organization (ILO)'s recently released World Employment and Social Outlook (WESO) report portrays a rather grim picture about the state of youth employment in Bangladesh. This is more so, as according to the outgoing country director of ILO,...