Boosting the economic integration in South Asia

As the 10th South Asia Economic Summit (SAES) is taking place in Kathmandu, Nepal on November 14-16, 2017, revisiting the previous efforts to push the regional economic integration in South Asia may shed some light on how well or otherwise...

Expediting the process of Rohingyas' repatriation to Myanmar

The latest Security Council consensus statement, the fourth in a row in course of last three months, is the most comprehensive, substantive and explicit one, providing a framework of roadmap for speedy repatriation process of Rohingyas to their home in...

MNCs should increase free float of share volumes: Experts

Public float of shares of large-cap listed companies and MNCs should be increased to raise the depth of the market, experts said."Free float shares of the existing multinational companies should be increased by at least 15-20 per cent as many...

Move to boost trade ties with Indonesia

The government has taken an initiative to increase bilateral trade with Indonesia and attract Indonesian investors to various sectors of Bangladesh, officials said.As part of the move, the commerce ministry asked the departments concerned and the country's apex trade body...

Where mutual interests of US and China converge

Andrew Liveris, Executive Chairman of DowDuPont and Chairman and CEO of The Dow Chemical Company, sat down for an interview with the People's Daily and discussed about a range of topics, from US-China collaboration to corporate cooperation. PEOPLE'S DAILY; Question...

Why do people go missing?

It has been a long list of people going missing. Recently there have been a number of forced disappearances. Of those, the disappearance of a North South University teacher Dr Mubashar Hasan is the latest one to have left society...

Forty-eight seconds and doctors' attitude

It is nothing surprising that physicians in Bangladesh, on an average, spend only 48 seconds on each of their patients who seek primary healthcare. The allotted time is one of the lowest in the world, the British Medical Journal (BMJ)...

Honeywell president looks at Chinese mkt as a source of prosperity, growth

Shane Tedjarati WASHINGTON, Nov 11: In a recent exclusive interview Honeywell President for Global High Growth Regions Shane Tedjarati, who accompanied US President Donald Trump during his trip to China, shared with the People's Daily of China his views on...

BMBA urges Muhith to exempt investments by MF sponsors

Bangladesh Merchant Bankers Association (BMBA) has urged the finance minister to exclude some components, including sponsors' investments in mutual funds (MFs), from the banks' exposure to the capital market.It made the request for ensuring an environment conducive to gradual development...

Together towards prosperity and harmonious development

We greatly value the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum for the ample opportunities it affords all participants to engage in discussions and coordinate positions on a variety of economic, social, environmental, and cultural issues. Our countries strive to cooperate...

MIC status by 2021: Challenges and opportunities

Once in a while a phrase comes along that captures the imagination of the people. In Bangladesh today, that phrase is achieving the status of middle-income country (MIC) by 2021 to mark the country's 50th year of independence. According to...

Japan wants to help in building capacity of axle load stations

As the authorities concerned find it hard to contain the damage being caused to national roads and highways by overloaded trucks and container carriers. Japan has showed interest to help improve the situation through proper operation and management of axle...

Trade ties with some LDCs under review

Bangladesh is revisiting its trade ties with some least developed countries (LDCs) as they are in the process of graduating out of the world's poor-country club, officials said.The reevaluation of trade preferences is taking place since the Department of Economic...

Biometric-enabled payment likely for beneficiaries

A move is underway to bring the beneficiaries of social security and welfare programmes under a biometric identity-enabled payment system to help the country shift from cash to electronic payments. Digital Financial Services (DFS) lab+ under Access to Information (A2i)...

Stocks nudge higher as bank, telecom issues surge

Stocks extended the winning streak for the two consecutive weeks that ended Thursday as enthusiastic investors continued their buying appetite on bank and telecommunication issues.Market operators said the positive momentum in some large-cap issues, especially from banking, telecom, pharmaceuticals and...

Dhaka to press for Nairobi Package

Bangladesh will press for implementing the decisions of the last ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in its upcoming meeting to be held in Argentina next month, officials said. The 10th ministerial conference of WTO, held in Nairobi,...

Reaping the benefit of green building

The SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) form a set of strategic pathways to guide our development agenda over many challenges like poverty, inequality, climate change etc. To overcome these mega challenges, we concurrently need to take different development initiatives in the...

Tragic boat journey for JSC examinees

The capsize of a boat with JSC (Junior School Certificate) examinees in the Pagla River in Nabinagar Upazila of Brahmanbaria should have mortified the national conscience but, it seems, it has not. There were reports of two deaths and injury...

Edible insect industry: New doorway to nutrition

Edible insects refer to the insects that are brought under human consumption or consumption as animal feed. Edible insects contain high quality protein, vitamin, fibres and amino acids for humans and they have high food conversion rate.According to the United...

Is human contribution central to climate change?

The issues of climate change and global warming that occupied the centre stage of international affairs early this year, faded for some time. But they came roaring back recently after publication of world climate report, the observations of which were...

Inclusive rural financial market

Available information on Bangladesh's present situation of financial inclusion show that only one-fifth of population has access to banks, only 40 per cent adults have access to mobile services, only 5.0 per cent of rural adults have access to bank...

In the land of Trump: 'Mental health' versus 'Islamic terrorism'

President Trump was in Tokyo when the latest mass shooting in Texas killed 25 and came five weeks after the biggest mass shooting in US history in Las Vegas that had killed 55. In both the instances, the perpetrator was...

Govt frames policy on health dev surcharge

The government has framed a policy on spending health development surcharge by setting some 14 priority sectors, including financing for tobacco control activities. The policy has been formulated after three and a half years of imposition of the surcharge on...

Single person may form company

A single person may form a commercial firm under a provision of the companies' law being updated along with some other major business-stimulating measures. Official sources said the government is considering incorporating some new provisions, including one allowing individuals to...

Of youth-centric development planning

Around the world, young people are large in number which is growing. They constitute one-quarter of the world's population, and one-third of the population in developing nations. Youths have the endless potential which makes them the most important and productive...

More tickets as means of disciplining Dhaka traffic!

Traffic sergeants are, apparently, in a rat race to file cases against violators of traffic rules on Dhaka streets. On an average, they have filed more than 100,000 cases and realised Tk 40 million in fines a month during the...

Bridging gender gap

Bangladesh's latest ranking in the Gender Equality Index prepared by the World Economic Forum (WEF) is a cause for celebration. First, its progress in bridging the gender gap has been appreciably fast and steady. How its journey on this daunting...

RHD projects likely to be costlier soon

Building roads and bridges in the public sector is likely to cost the government more in the future days as a move is underway to revise upward the prices of construction materials, sources said.The cost of construction of physical infrastructures...

Some powerful groups defying restrictions on stone collection in Sylhet border areas

SYLHET, Nov 08: Companiganj, Gowainghat and Kanaighat upazilas along the border are known for stone and sand collection manually by labourers. But, after the high court imposed restriction on the indiscriminate extraction, the organised groups in a tricky way, started...

Freeing Africa's Internet

Much to the dismay of the government in Addis Ababa, "Zone 9" has become a household name in Ethiopia. Since 2012, this small group of journalists-turned-online activists has used social media to campaign for political freedoms and civil liberties in...