Chittagong port tackles backlog as operations normalise

As operations at the Chittagong Port began in full swing on Monday morning after a bumpy week, there were 24 box ships at the jetties and outer anchorage, according to port data.Some of these vessels faced inordinate delays in getting...

Major shift from roads to rail, water targeted by 2040

A multimodal transportation plan has been finalised at the fag end of the interim government's term to guide all related agencies in implementing future infrastructure development projects aimed at improved connectivity for both passengers and freight.However, experts say the obligation...

Regulator plans crackdown on non-compliant sponsor-directors

The securities regulator is set to take tough action against sponsor-directors who have yet to meet the minimum requirement of holding a 30 per cent joint stake in their listed companies.The requirement was introduced after the 2010 market collapse to...

NiV crossing traditional belt, seasons

A woman aged between 40 and 50 died of Nipah Virus (NiV) infection in the northern district of Naogaon, according to WHO Disease Outbreak News. As reported, the woman developed symptoms of NiV infection which included fever, headache, muscle cramp,...

Penchant for last-minute sensitive deals

The Japan-Bangladesh Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) signed between the two countries on Friday last is likely to take the bilateral cooperation and collaboration to a new high. From duty-free access to several thousands of Bangladeshi products and the vice versa...

BNP, Jamaat vow deep reforms to boost revenue mobilisation

The major political parties have placed domestic revenue mobilisation at the centre of their respective economic agenda, setting specific targets to raise Bangladesh's tax-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio amid shrinking fiscal space.The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has pledged to increase...

BB to hold tight stance

Bangladesh Bank unveils its next monetary policy today (Monday), with officials indicating that the central bank will maintain its tight stance for another six months to rein in inflation and stabilise the exchange rate.The Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) for the...

Competing blueprints for a digital Bangladesh

In the bustling tea stalls of Dhaka and the quiet broadband hubs of rural districts, a new kind of political conversation is taking shape. As Bangladesh moves towards the national election on 12 February 2026, the ballot is no longer...

What sways the voter perception

A local think tank, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), last Saturday (February 9) presented the findings of a survey it conducted on what the voters as well as political party representatives and candidates understood by the word 'development'. The...

Energy giants' tax arrears hit revenue drive, expose deep governance gap

The revenue collection effort has suffered a major blow as two state-owned energy giants, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) and Petrobangla, have accumulated more than Tk 330 billion in unpaid import duties and taxes.The mounting arrears have raised serious concerns within...

Oldest mutual fund beyond securities laws as mismatches emerge

The operations of the ICB Unit Fund, the country's oldest and largest mutual fund (MF) floated in the 1980s, have yet to come under securities laws.Officials of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) said repeated attempts had been made...

How a single project can reshape a region

As a development analyst, I have spent much of my career studying how large infrastructure projects alter regional economies. Too often, such projects promise transformation but leave behind only partial gains. Rooppur, however, tells a different story. What is unfolding...

Keeping market stable in Ramadan

The holy month of Ramadan will begin in less than two weeks. It is a time when people are expected not only to deepen their spiritual devotion but also to refrain from practices that are morally indefensible and harmful to...

Will FDI surge after election?

Notwithstanding various efforts and policy supports, inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bangladesh is still nominal. The annual average net inflow of FDI stood at $1.60 billion in the last 10 years which is less than one per cent...

Ctg election fever peaks before Feb 12

CHATTOGRAM, Feb 06: has gripped Chattogram ahead of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad (JS) election slated for 12 February. Campaigning by candidates and discussions among voters are at their peak, with supporters of candidates in the city's 16 constituencies holding processions...

Nat’l telehealth helpline 16263 faces shutdown amid funding crisis

Bangladesh's flagship public telehealth service, Shastho Batayan 16263, which has served as a critical healthcare lifeline for millions, is facing an uncertain future due to prolonged funding delays and administrative bottlenecks, triggering concern among health experts, service providers and policymakers.Launched...

GP loses 0.85m subscribers in Dec amid SIM limits, service issues

Grameenphone (GP), the country's largest mobile operator, saw its subscriber base shrink by about 0.85 million in December 2025, highlighting the growing tensions between regulatory intervention and persistent service quality issues that seem to be reshaping the telecom market.According to...

Navigating fog is like driving blindfolded

Northern Bangladesh usually sees the country’s lowest winter temperatures and thickest fog, reducing visibility to near zero and making train operations challenging. While GPS-based fog safety devices are used in neighbouring India, no such advanced technology is deployed in Bangladesh....

Learning a lesson of cosmopolitanism in the capital

Is Bangladesh a nation of forgers? When such denigration comes from none other than the head of the government, one who is a recipient of the highest award on offer in the world, people cannot but look askance. In fact,...

A rebuttal on 'Pitfalls of Trumpian tariffs'

This note responds to Helal Uddin Ahmed's piece "Pitfalls of Trumpian tariffs" (P4, FE, January 30, 2026) by examining the analytical assumptions underlying the critique rather than the policy itself.The critique of Trumpian tariffs rests on a familiar and largely...

Explaining the rise and fall of empires

Despite humans seldom learning from history although it invariably repeats itself, the rise and fall of empires and civilisations as well as their causes and consequences have always attracted the attention of historians and laymen alike. Treading on this same...

Smart electricity meters lie idle

Around 0.4 million smart pre-payment meters imported under Dhaka Power Distribution Company's (DPDC) long-delayed smart-metering project are lying idle in warehouses, raising concerns about possible technical deterioration and inefficient use of public funds.Nearly eight years after the project was approved...

Govt restructures LPG taxes to reduce domestic prices

The government has decided to restructure the taxation of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), shifting the collection of value-added tax (VAT) from the local supply and trading stages to the import stage. The move, aimed at reducing prices in the domestic...

Most laws, reforms, regulations remain largely unimplemented

At least 10 laws, regulations and policy reforms were introduced in the road transport sector since 2009. But, most of these remained largely unimplemented over the past 16 years.Sector analysts said political interference and shifting priorities either shelved or rendered...

Right time for promoting light engineering industry

The three-day Bangladesh Light Engineering Expo 2026, only the second of its kind, has brought to the fore the sombre fact of the gap between the country's capacity development in this sector and the potential it holds. Even the second...

BTRC drops plan to cut SIM limit to five

Bangladesh's telecom regulator has withdrawn a proposal to reduce the maximum number of SIM cards per national identity (NID) from 10 to five following opposition from two mobile operators, reigniting debate over regulatory neutrality and the competitive consequences of policy...

Foreign airliners make most of BD's aviation business as hosts falter

Passenger traffic on international routes from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in Dhaka is rising steadily but domestic airlines' market share stays stymied at a modest 40 per cent amid a descent.The closure of several airlines over the past decades...

Govt unwilling to avoid exposure of more unpalatable statistics

Worried about the possible erosion of public confidence in the banking sector and market reactions, the Financial Institutions Division (FID) insists on not doing the asset-quality review (AQR) of state-owned banks (SoBs) now. The review was proposed under the Financial...

Future of cancer care in Bangladesh

Bangladesh must invest heavily in cancer research, innovation, AI-driven technologies -- Doulot Akter Mala shows how answers to cancers can be derived from latest know-how Once a frightening saying that 'cancer has no answer' no longer stands in today's world....

Why investment in oncology infrastructure is an economic imperative

Every year, approximately 482,000 Bangladeshis cross into India seeking medical treatment. Several hundred thousand more travel to Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia. Medical tourism outflows total US$4 to US$5 billion annually, with cancer treatment representing a substantial portion. Families liquidate agricultural...